Tender is the Night
by LJ Summers
Summary: Sequel to Open Up Next to You, this is the story of Bella meeting her true vampire mate. How the Whitlock Coven adjusts and how she comes to open her heart again remain to be seen. RUNNER UP for BEST NON-CANON FIC in The Non-Canon Awards!
1. What a Woman

**A/N:** Story title taken from the album _**Celtic Thunder Storm**_ and chapter titles taken from lyrics of other Celtic Thunder songs.

My thanks, always, to **katmom**. She read this while I wrote it and sent me all manner of fun notes. I love her shouty-caps! Thanks for your encouragement, hon!

This is complete at ten chapters - quick but it'll do the job. ;-)

If you have **not read** _Open Up Next to You_, this might make no sense. Not kicking you out, just giving _warning_.

_**Official Disclaimer:** This is a work of derivative fiction. I hold copyrights in the real world; this is not among them nor will it ever be. All things _Twilight_ are the property of Stephenie Meyer. I am just glad she allows us to utterly rearrange the lives of the characters she created._

**Welcome back.**

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><p><strong>Chapter One: What a Woman<strong>

Make-up sex was much more than he had appreciated back when he only caught glimpses of it from Emmett's more libidinous moments. As Edward employed a growl to further arouse his mate, he listened carefully to her thoughts on how best to please her that afternoon, and felt buoyant with love and relief that – the latest fight notwithstanding – their marriage might soon be lacking in one major irritant.

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><p>"Alice! Jasper! Bella!" Carlisle had called into the rain that pelted around them in the veldt. On the southern plains of Africa, the Cullens were taking advantage of the current political uncertainties to hunt bigger game.<p>

_I didn't know they were coming!_ Bronwyn had groused privately. Her words were surrounded by images of her own uncertainty as she brought up Bella's appearance at the few family functions that had been graced by the triad's appearance over the past forty years. Images of Bella's face, of his own during that first unnerving night when Bella's internal shield had dropped (Or had she pushed it out? Edward had never dared to ask her.) while the Whitlock Coven had enjoyed their own post-hunt lovemaking, flashed through his awareness.

Edward winced internally and pulled Bronwyn close against his side. "I'm sorry. I knew they'd been informed and invited, but I didn't say anything because I didn't want to worry you over nothing." The Whitlock Coven did not always accept invitations.

Comforting his wife was easier than dwelling on the thoughts of the Whitlocks. Jasper's instant assessment of the group gathered already under the simple canopy they had erected against the weather was predictable.

_Emmett's finally settled down, good. Don't want to embarrass him in front of Rose. Ed's here. Great. You listening? No spouting off on Isabella this time! Probably isn't listening anyway. He's all wrapped up in his mate. Alistair – he's red-eyed again. I absolutely understand. Kate's a stronger person than I am. Carlisle – at least there's no paternal vibe this time. Finally. No aggressive flares. All right. Good. _ Jasper's thoughts relaxed somewhat as he led Alice and Bella under the protection of the weatherproofed tarpaulin.

Alice was impossible. Reciting the latest supernatural thriller in English in the forefront of her mind. _La da da, Edward. Rhys burrowed into the thick fog, hiding himself from his tormentors. He felt them, though; their anger pressing tangibly against his spine –_

He vacated her mind instantly and checked on Bella. No, she wasn't letting anyone in, today.

_I'm going to be polite. C'mon, Bron, you're being ridiculous,_ his wife admonished herself. "Hello! What a surprise to see you," she called, actually approaching Bella with her hand outstretched.

Isabella's expression was – in contrast to her thoughts – easily read. _Surprise_. "Thank you, Bronwyn. How's the hunting been?"

"We haven't gone yet. I think we were waiting for you." Bronwyn could curl her voice to good effect, chastising Edward as well as implying that the Whitlocks were somewhat lacking, all in seven simple words.

With a smooth smile, Bella nodded. "Very kind of you, I'm sure." She reached one hand out and touched Jasper's sleeve. "We had a bit of a delay at the airport."

Alice, as if pulled by gravity, moved toward Jasper and linked arms with Bella. "They had to inspect our recording equipment. We thought we'd combine this trip with a new unit." Oh, their teaching project. Of course. Edward was irritated that his mind had first imagined they had been delayed on account of sex. It had happened before, but he hated that his imagination went there. He did not approve of their relationship but that didn't truly matter. At least he was spared having to _live_ with it, year in and year out.

Was Alice even _looking_ for Bella's mate? Why should she, after all? It was clear that the three of them were content and fulfilled with one another. But it was wrong, Edward groused internally. Wrong to keep Bella to themselves. Yes, fine, by all accounts she was happy, but why should she even try to find her destined true mate if that were so?

Jasper confronted him.

_Edward. You and I need to have a talk. _

Edward pushed forth a wave of reluctance and irritation.

_I get it. But we do. C'mon. _ With a nudge that felt more like a jab in Edward's nonfunctional kidneys, Jasper all but herded him away.

_You know, I get this irritated, superior vibe from Bronwyn every time we come to one of these things. And when Bella shields me in a certain way? She feels it, too. _ Jasper subdued the growl he felt rumbling under his ribs, vibrating and angry. Edward pulsed in a wave of shock and guilt. _Yeah. As Bella has told you times without number, Edward, you don't have to approve of us. Ever. It's okay. But neither do you get to judge us, all right? Bella, especially, is a stronger person than anyone I know. _

"Oh, I concur," Edward murmured, since they were out of earshot of even the most sensitive vampire ears. "But she deserves to be happy and _whole_, Jasper."

The Leader of the Whitlock Coven didn't even think for a moment. He simply cuffed Edward on the back of his head, sending him flying forward to land awkwardly on all fours.

Fury flared all around Edward's head and torso. Jasper didn't flinch; he was prepared to do battle. _That's right, Edward. Battle. I am not putting up with your pestering Bella about finding her mate. She's happy. If it happens, it'll happen. Are you jealous? Is that what this is? _It was an unfair question; Jasper knew that jealousy might be in the confusing mix of Edward's emotional stew, but that wasn't his primary reason.

"No!" The mind-reader rose slowly to his feet, staying six paces from Jasper. "I just – I'm _responsible_ for her, Jasper."

"No. You're not. We've told you, Edward. She's responsible for her own happiness and so are Alice and I, to a degree. Let it go, brother," he added on a softer note. "Let _her_ go."

Edward's face contorted and he actually slumped to the ground. "I can't. Until I know that she's whole, I'll feel like I've broken her and I have to fix it."

Jasper snorted. "She's happy. She's in love. She's everything she wants to be right now. You do not get to tell her it's not enough, you hear me? I will bury you under enough shame to pin you to the mud for the next day, Edward, if I catch anything of the sort. I love that woman and you are not allowed to say anything directed at making her feel less than what she is. Ever." Jasper felt every muscle in his body tense, prepared to pound mud down the other man's throat. He dug into his own private resources to find the shame he needed and the pain he could inflict.

"Is she even looking for him? Alice, I mean?"

"Edward! It's not your concern, you ass! Let it go!"

Rain pouring from his heavy locks of water-dark hair, Jasper pushed Edward once into the earth and stalked back.

Edward knew better than to retaliate.

Instead, he rose from the ground and used the rain to rinse the mud from his body while he thought. He didn't trust Alice. In general, yes, but he didn't trust her to be seeking Bella's mate with due diligence. There was only one other person who might be able to find a mate, if one was to be had.

Grimacing, he jogged back to the gathering, ignoring the inquisitive thoughts and direct – silent – questions from all the others as he caught his prey's eye. "Alistair," he called softly.

Kate heard him too, of course, and the mismated pair turned as one to face him. Golden eyes and red. _What is it?_ they both wondered silently.

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><p>Bella and Alice watched Kate and Alistair leave their conversation with Carlisle and Esme to go off into a more-or-less private conference with Edward. "What is it?" Bella inquired of her dearest friend and partner. "First Jasper and now Alistair?"<p>

Jasper had taken a few moments to dry off but rejoined them at that moment. "Ladies," he drawled, a subtle reassurance drifting from him to encompass Bella and Alice.

Bella tilted her head, Alice shook hers, and they all three regarded one another silently. "Jasper," the smallest of their triad murmured, her hand sliding up his arm, "you know that you can't go getting all mad at him because he's worried."

Bella tensed. In all their years together, Edward remained a sore point for Jasper. Not out of any type of jealousy, she understood, but because her ex-husband tended to act with intrusive _concern_. Still, she didn't defend him again because it had all been said already. She just sighed and leaned into Jasper's side a little. "I love you," she murmured to both of them, projecting with practiced force the feelings she held and the confidence she had in them.

"What is it all about?" Jasper inquired of Alice with an nod in the direction Edward had taken.

Alice turned to follow the path Edward, Kate and Alistair had taken. "I can't hear. I got a vision of them talking, heads together."

"Anything resulting from it?" Jasper asked in his Major's voice.

Bella held her breath as Alice searched futures. After about sixty endless seconds, the seer sighed expansively, her shoulders rolling. "No. Nothing I can see."

After spending time with Emmett discussing the current herd movements and the diurnal versus nocturnal opportunities, the Cullens and Whitlocks and all extended parties separated. It was time to hunt.

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><p>Hunting almost always led to riotous lovemaking – decades had not changed this delightful "dessert" that they indulged in regularly.<p>

In a Jackalberry tree, isolated on the African savannah, Bella relished the love that all but shone around her. Braced against the tree trunk, she gloried in Jasper's powerful thrusts. As she approached orgasm, Alice – who watched with loving desire practically pouring from her – reached for her hand and Bella grasped tightly, her other arm clutching the trunk of the tree. Tension spiraled, her breath came in quick pants when her body tightened all around her lover's.

"Oh...!" Her scream was followed by Jasper's branch-rattling roar and Alice's moan. When they were together, in whatever level of sexual involvement, they knew that their triadic orgasms were felt by all of them. It was nothing short of staggering. Rather like Jasper's recovery time.

In a matter of moments, it seemed, he had bounced up to Alice's branch and settled her on his renewed erection while Bella watched, sated and happy and enjoying. This time, she held Alice's hand, and their fulfillment probably succeeded in scaring any animals that hadn't already left the vicinity.

Post-coital snuggling being difficult on the branches of the Jackalberry tree, the three of them leapt lightly to the ground after recovering their clothes. They planned on making the trip back to the rest as slow as vampiricly possible.

"Promise you won't let him under your skin?" Alice requested of her mate.

Jasper chuckled. "No. But I promise not to shove him in the mud again unless he refuses to heed me on one particular," he said formally.

Bella smiled privately to herself. Really, Jasper was a sweetheart for trying so hard to keep Edward off her case. "I could just close off his mind again," she said whimsically. "It is kind of fun."

"Save it for when he's really obnoxious," Alice advised. And when Jasper opened his mouth to say something, she jabbed him with her elbow. "When _Bella_ thinks he's obnoxious."

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><p><em>Stop being obnoxious and tell me, already!<em> Bronwyn chided playfully as she unbuttoned Edward's dark hunting shirt.

"I asked Alistair to find someone. And I think you'll be quite pleased," he added with a smile.

_So long as you're _all here _with me... _she thought with a sly image of them stranded in the night-shaded grasses.

With a smile, he slid Bronwyn up his body and held her tightly against himself. "I am, love. I am." And it almost felt as if he was, for the very first time.

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><p>In future days, as Bella reviewed the recordings she, Jasper and Alice had made for their latest educational endeavor, she would think of how happy she had been. Good times, no overt negativity even from Rosalie, and Bronwyn had been more than merely polite. Even Edward never became obnoxious, never frowned when he saw her embracing both of her loves. It had to have been too fabulous to last.<p>

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><p>Far to the north, on the Emerald Isle, a red-haired, ably-muscled man returned to a shaded cottage before a misty sunrise could glance off his skin. His eyes glowed with the blood of a fresh meal over the newly-inherited sweater he had also coveted. "Siobhan! Maggie!"<p>

The women of the coven appeared. "Liam! You're back! Did you find him?" Siobhan asked. They had been lovers for a decade before Siobhan found Maggie, and the curvaceous blond vampire knew all his secrets. His sire, a tracker with a mediocre level of skill, had found his way to their corner of County Cavan. Known for its many lakes, the County attracted a fair share of tourists – Liam's natural prey – and bodies were easily made to look like boat-accident victims. If they were careful, it was a good place to live for a time. "You said he'd come back." They all knew of whom Siobhan spoke.

"Did you will it so, love?" he teased her, a fresh air of freedom about him. At her disclaiming gesture, he laughed. "I did find him. He had just captured a new victim. One who will not, mind, be joining our race."

Maggie whistled. "You did it! You're free!"

"I am."

"You appear less tense, Liam," Siobhan said. They stood speaking to one another in their natural, rapid speed, their bodies stone-still, for they had no near neighbors and only the birds were about at this hour.

He acknowledged her observation with a quick nod. "I uncovered myself." It was his gift, and it worked far better than any gift his sire had hired, to be sure. He could hide himself at will from all but physical eyes. He had kept himself covered for decades, more than half a century, really, and the effort expended – though negligible – had left a perpetual feeling of tension in his personal space. "Feels good."

Siobhan gestured with a friendly wave of her arm and the three moved indoors. "So now what?" she inquired.

He smiled ruefully. "Honest, dove, I've no idea. I'm thinking I'll travel, some." He embraced each woman with one arm, pulling them against his sides. "I know _you'll_ appreciate the privacy, eh?"

"Oh, you!" Maggie slapped him on the stomach.

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><p>"Bella? It's Kate."<p>

Bella grinned and relaxed in the front seat of the Jeep she, Jasper and Alice were using on their excursion. "Hey, Kate! How are you? Did you guys go back to the U.K.?" The big reunion had ended amicably and Bella felt so much less tense now that she and Alice and Jasper were doing what they normally did, out here in the wild.

A nervous laugh. "Yes, we did. It's very comfortable here. Look. I am calling because Edward spoke to us at the hunting party."

"I saw that. Everything okay?"

An uncomfortable sound filtered through the connection. "He asked my mate to do him a favor."

"What kind of favor?" Jasper, who had been checking the fluids under the hood of the vehicle, popped his head around to watch her. Alice quit flipping pages in the magazine. Bella beckoned to Jasper, who stepped around to the window, reaching in just to place a soothing hand on her thigh. Alice scooted forward until she had her cheek on Bella's shoulder. The contact with the loved ones relaxed Bella considerably. "I can't imagine what Edward would want from Alistair."

"Your mate, not to put too fine a point on it."

Unnerved, Bella stilled. "Oh?"

There was a small sliding sound and then Bella caught a voice she had never heard except in person. "Isabella? It is Alistair."

Alice puffed out an impatient breath that moved a lock of Bella's hair. "Alistair? What is it?" both women asked simultaneously. Jasper's sudden flash of a grin was gone almost as soon as they'd registered it, but his jolt of amusement had been palpable.

"I do not wish to do this without your knowledge, for it seems to me that Edward Cullen's request was – _inappropriate_, to be quite honest with you. He wanted me," Alistair went on, reluctance heavy in his tone, "to seek your mate."

"What the hell?" Bella protested. "How dare he?" With her free hand, she gripped Jasper's and squeezed hard to avoid breaking the phone.

A loud breath. "He told me he's still feeling responsible for you."

"He's an ass," Jasper interjected, grimacing from his position half-in the window.

"That is true," Alistair agreed with a snort loud enough for all three of them to hear. "The thing is, Isabella, I rather feel as if I owe it to you to look, much as I'd rather not."

A spike of fear, oddly edged with a strange curiosity, shot through Bella, feeling as if it came in at her neck and went out through her spine. "Oh." She darted a look to Jasper and then to Alice, seeing frowns on their faces that mirrored her own, she was sure. "Well, then. Alistair, it's your gift. I can't tell you how to use it. I cannot believe Edward asked this of you."

"I can," Alice muttered. "Alistair?"

"Alice Whitlock?"

"Thanks for letting us know."

"It is the least I can do."

Bella pressed her lips together and closed her eyes. "Can I call you back about this?"

"I make no promises," the misanthrope replied before ending the conversation.

Immediately thereafter, Jasper pulled her out of the Jeep and into his arms. Alice was right behind, wrapping her body as closely as she could around the two people who brightened her world.

Isabella trembled as feelings ran riot through her. "I love us _three_," she whispered. It was their affirmation.

"So do we," Jasper assured her.

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><p><strong>AN: So! Now you know! **

**As before, I have a teaser for chapter two. Let me know if you want it – I won't send it without express written consent! :)**

**Thanks for joining me. ~LJ**


	2. This Was My Life

**A/N: Thank you so much for joining me once again in this AU. Liam was a bit of a surprise for you, but most of you seem optimistic. So far. lol**

**Thanks to everyone adding this story to their lists and special thanks to those who review. You wow'd me out of the park _again_! Wheee!**

**Oh. A note. Liam is from _Breaking Dawn_. He is the male in the Irish coven. There, he's mated to Siobhan, but this story is clearly not BD compliant... So Siobhan and Maggie are mated to one another.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two: This Was My Life<strong>

"I really think that this could work, if we can get in to talk to an official," Alice was saying. "If the sun would just let up a little..."

The sky was on the indigo side of night-to-morning, with stars above and a moving satellite still visible. No clouds meant dry weather. Alice sighed at the necessity of hanging their clothes to dry after a washing. She often preferred her clothing new or nearly so. Not washed over and over with biodegradable soap and rainwater. A fairly sturdy wind helped dry their laundry while they leaned back on a shared blanket and watched the skies. They couldn't really focus on much of anything since Kate and Alistair had called them earlier.

When Alice sat up abruptly, Bella at first paid her little heed. After forty years, she knew better than to get tense with every vision Alice had. So she rolled herself half on top of Jasper, her fingers tracing abstract designs on his scarred skin, and waited for the Dynamo to snap out of it.

"Oh. Oh. Oh."

Alice's wounded-sounding chant had Jasper and Bella both surrounding their beloved seer, touching her gently. "Alice? Mary Alice?" Foreboding fell like an icy cloak over Bella's back.

Face contorted in sorrow, Alice shook herself and leaned into Bella's arms. "Oh, oh. Bella. Bella."

Bella caught Jasper's eyes, her own wide and worried. She felt his worry arcing out to encompass them. Love and compassion and a slight edge of fear which scratched roughly at Bella's comprehension of his gift.

"Hon, what is it?" Jasper asked, his voice both careful and commanding. "Come on, sugar. We can't help you if you don't let us know."

A strange, gargled sound came from Alice's throat. "I saw him, Jasper. Bella, Bella." Alice took a deep breath and moved slightly away from Bella's arms. "I saw him, Bella. I saw your mate."

Jasper swore. "Did Alistair find him?"

"I don't know." Apology shone in her grief-darkened eyes. "I haven't looked in a while, Bella. I just couldn't, you know?" Forgiveness was communicated through Bella's touch and Jasper only emphasized it with his gift. "Thank you. But when Alistair mentioned it, I –"

"You had to. I get it, Alice. I totally do," Bella said, her voice soft, but flat, as if no single emotion could dominate her statement entirely. "Okay."

Jasper gathered both his ladies up against himself, maneuvering so that each of them got a thigh. The tangle of limbs was customary, and he wondered how many more times he'd see this unique, loving puzzle that he traced with his gaze at that moment. Forty years, they had been together. Forty years of loving, of adjusting, of sharing, of supporting. Forty years of relocations, explorations, innovations.

Forty years of living almost as if they were a mated _triad_ instead of a _pair_ and a greatly-loved woman with the capacity to love beyond boundaries. He felt a huge wave of loss crash in his heart. The feeling reverberated, emotionally drenching Alice and Bella until they each keened under their breath.

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><p>It was by mutual agreement that the three of them put the rest of their project on hold and returned to their current residence in New Mexico. Though it was prohibitively sunny, there was a great deal of open space with which to distance themselves from others. Deer, elk, antelope, cougar and even bear were among the available game in the state and they had, with judicious planning, been able to hunt quite satisfactorily.<p>

While washing the high windows of their large, adobe dwelling, Jasper decided to skip the pleasantries.

"Ladies," he called, knowing they'd hear him while they sprayed and wiped, "we've talked about this."

"That was before," Alice snapped. He could hear the force with which she wiped at a window. Squeaking in protest, the glass was, but it didn't break. "Bella –"

Bella had wrapped herself in her shield, frustrating Jasper considerably. Her voice was cool as ice cream. "I'm trying to figure out what I feel."

"Well," Jasper retorted, "if you'd let me _in_, I could maybe _help_ with that."

As if that was their communal cue, they all three leapt from their respective perches to the ground. Sunlight sent minute rainbows to seemingly spin behind them and, for a moment, Jasper had to see the humor of that. They looked like a bad acid trip.

Bella would occasionally give him hell for being "nosey" about when she shielded herself. Every so often, he'd be able to tell that she had been practicing with the uses to which she could put her shield. She would expand it to tease him. When he protested – because he felt blind without being able to feel her and Alice – she'd sometimes square off and let him have it.

Window cleaner still in hand, Bella appeared to brace herself. "Well? You want it?"

Wary, he nodded. "Hit me, sugar."

Alice was practically vibrating at the pinnacle of their communication triangle as Bella sighed and then –

Anxiety, curiosity, _agape, eros, phileo_, worry, fear of abandonment (a texture of fear that he had been bombarded with early in his association with one Isabella Swan Cullen Whitlock), fear of failure, confusion, anticipation – a veritable maelstrom of emotions blew and swirled violently around him, making him gasp. "Bella..."

Alice flashed to his side, embracing him with everything she had. "Jas, you okay?" She shot a somewhat accusing glance at Bella. "What did you do?"

Bella bit her lip and came to join them, kneeling on the sandstone that made up the paving stones. "You asked," was all she whispered, running her fingers through his hair. He felt each press of her skin to his, as he felt Alice's abiding love for them both. "I'm just so conflicted."

"Oh, Bella, I'm so sorry," Alice whispered. "I'd be all confused, too." She pressed herself tightly against Jasper until he gathered both of the women against himself. They nuzzled one another, caressed with passion-free fingertips, and generally reassured each other that they were loved.

All three of them.

"I'm scared," Bella murmured, her eyes closed as she clung to her most dearly beloved. "I remember how it was with Edward, when he met Bronwyn. He – he said he didn't love me as he had before." Her eyes opened and met the sad golden ones of her coven's leader. "I don't want not to love you, Jas. Alice. I don't want that for me or for you. It was the worst."

"Part of what hurt you was the betrayal," Alice reminded her. "Because it was something you hadn't ever expected and it felt so wrong." Jasper nodded in support of his mate. "But sweetie? We would never feel betrayed by this."

"It'll hurt, when you meet him," Jasper allowed, inhaling and saying another in a series of private farewells that he had begun in Africa. "It'll hurt us. All of us. But, sugar, you'll _want_ to be mated." He wiggled one hand free to cup her cheek. Alice made finger-furrows in Bella's richly tinted hair. "We'll want that for you. We will not ever feel bad about you, Isabella. Ever. You will always be welcome to be with us." Alice nodded enthusiastically.

"I don't have to meet him," Bella ventured, eyes darting back and forth between the other two. "I can just stay here and work on our series. You never said where you saw – saw him, Alice..."

Jasper started, aware that this was indeed the case. "Hon? She's right. You never said."

Guilt washed to him as Alice paused, her body stiff in his embrace. Her voice was wispy when she answered. "Here. I saw him _here_."

Years ago, Jasper reflected, Bella would have leapt to her feet and run away. Now, more balanced and having had decades of experience in a stable, loving relationship, she just gasped as incredulity frothed forth from her body, becoming the dominant emotion he could feel.

"Here?"

* * *

><p>Liam had never been one to amass a quantity of money. Alone for quite some time before meeting Siobhan and creating a sequence of "homes" for themselves that spanned the British Isles from Plymouth to Orkney and from Norwich in England to Cleggan on Ireland's west coast, he was content in his unencumbered life.<p>

Darkness blanketed the land on a fine night for Dublin. He wasn't hunting; Liam was just enjoying being out from under the burden of keeping himself hidden from his sire. That damned bastard had overshadowed Liam's own existence for far too long. The music from the pubs cheered him; he hadn't allowed himself much in the way of such amusements. Siobhan – a fine woman – was more of a bookish sort and didn't have a musical ability. Liam himself had used to play a guitar, long decades past.

It was standing in front of Goodwins Music Shop that he came to the realization that he wanted to play again. An acoustic guitar was on display, but the doors were locked. Considering how to acquire the instrument, he was only vaguely aware of the presence of another vampire until he caught a whiff of the distinctive scent that all vampires carried: the sharp venomous fragrance that would linger after a kill. Humans, oddly enough, didn't have the capacity to recognize it, but a vampire could always pull the scent out of the air.

He turned at human speed to see a disgruntled, out-of-sorts fellow approach. He was perhaps a few centimeters under Liam's own one meter, eighty-three centimeters. Lank, black hair fell into eyes that looked ill-fed. Liam steadied himself, just in case there would be an altercation. The other vampire stopped about ten feet away and stared, his face jutted slightly forward before walking out into the road with one hand angled away from his body.

Was there such a thing as an insane vampire? Likely...

Used to the company of others, Liam almost spoke. Something in the man's demeanor, though, kept him silent and watchful. _By all the saints, what is he doing?_ For the hungry-eyed fellow turned and made a direct-line approach.

"I am Alistair of York." Abrupt, the introduction told Liam precisely nothing except that Alistair of York had never managed to lose a Midlands accent. "Who are you?"

"Liam of Nowhere in Particular." Then, as the Midlands man continued to study him in silence while Dubliners ambled by in various stages of inebriation, Liam sighed hugely. "If you're lookin' for a fight, man, I can give you one, but we'd best be off the road."

Alistair of York grimaced as if he smelled something distasteful, like human food. "I am not here to fight, Irish. I – I was asked to find you." With an abrupt, almost dismissive jerk of his head, the Englishman indicated they should be moving into a less visible place, like the alley. Liam agreed and they walked at a pace he set, because Alistair didn't seem to worry about how he appeared, among their prey.

Liam, though, took more care. "Fine, so you're not up to a fight. You were looking for me?" A subtle, rasping edge of fear sneaked into his brain. "Wait. For who? Who're you workin' for?" There were two combative ruling bodies in their world, as well as who knew what other _amadán*_ might want to try to collect vampires in an alliance. "The Italians? The Romanians?" Liam's flawless memory could remember a brief meeting with the diminutive, ancient Romanians. Vladimir and Stefan had found him while he, Liam, had been trying to escape from his sire who was trying to collect a small group of immortals for his own purpose.

Alistair, a seemingly permanent look of disgust on his angular features, shook his head. "I'm not here for the Italians or Romanians. It's a debt of honor, if you will. I was asked to find you."

The fear grew, slapping Liam in the chest. Hard. He dropped into a defensive crouch instinctively, his muscles tense, his breathing harsh. "Well, you're na' goin' back ta tell anyone –" His accent got more broad under stress. It wasn't something he gave a damn about, though he noted it as he noted everything. If Alistair of York made one move –

"Relax, Irish," the man ground out. Liam didn't, but neither did he feel prepared to strike, exactly, either. "All I was asked to do was find you, not take you anywhere. Have you heard of the coven of Carlisle Cullen?"

"Cullen?" With a nod, Liam allowed himself to relax. "Are you here on behalf of Carlisle? We've met, he and I. He knows the others of my coven, as well."

"Aye. His first-created is mated to _my_ first-created," the dark-haired man went on, sounding as if each word was pulled from his throat by force. "I am here at his request, on behalf of _his_ first-created."

The humor of the thrice-used "first-created" struck a chord in Liam's psyche and he smiled. "Well, I've no first-created to bring to the gathering, so..."

"I'll be brief. Edward asked me to find you."

"Why?"

"Well, it would appear you're the mate of Edward's former spouse. Whom he left when he met Bronwyn, my first-created. I've been searching for you for seventeen days."

Liam laughed out loud, leaning against the wall of the building. "Right."

"Tell me your name and I'll be on my way."

"I'm Liam Maguire. If you talk to Carlisle, tell him I think his first-created is full of shite."

With only a nod, Alistair of York, apparent vampire mate-finder, turned and walked away. Liam was left staring into the misty air.

Someone's mate? Him? "Not bloody well likely." Even so, with all his disbelief, Liam rubbed at his ever-stubbled jawline and forced himself to stay where he was. The urge to run off after Alistair and find out who his mate _was_ pushed at his limbs with a sudden force.

* * *

><p>*<em>amadán<em> - idiot(male) - Irish Dictionary Online

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><p><strong>AN: So…still optimistic? ;-)**

**- - Note: I am fully aware that a denizen of York in the U.K. would not have a Midlands accent. That Alistair does is one of those "unchanging vampire" things - like Canon Carlisle still having a slight British accent though he has lived in the USA for two hundred years. :) **

**- - Housekeeping: As in OUNtY, this story will post on Tuesdays and Fridays. With only ten chapters, we'll be buzzing through it fairly quickly. **

**- - I do have a teaser prepared for chapter three. Let me know if you want it, because I won't send it unless you ask. I don't want to force the future on anyone. ;-) LJ**


	3. Dreaming of the One

A/N: Y'all are so amazing in your support for Alice and Jasper! And Bella! Thank you for my continued residence in the State of Wow!

Thanks, too, to **Katmom** for lighting campfires at A Different Forest. I'd link you from my profile, but FFn has taken away links, so I'lll send you here:

ht tp : / / w ww. adifferentforest. com Just take out the spaces when you paste it in your browser.

_Oh, by request: Siobhan is pronounced between "shiv-on" and "chiffon." _

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><p><strong>Chapter Three: Dreaming of the One<strong>

Three months could feel like three years, even to an immortal.

Bella eyed her reflection in the mirror, checking her appearance before their evening out. Sometimes, Alice enjoyed going out and dancing and there really was nothing that compared to the energy present in a human club. The three of them often indulged the particular wishes of one another. Jasper enjoyed archaeological digs that took place in covered places – he had signed them up for a few, over the years, and they would work in caves or underground systems. Bella had found herself enjoying cliff diving and _skydiving_, of all things. So they had taken vacations to have adventures.

She nodded at the mirror. Gold fabric that skimmed over her curves, heeled shoes that the Bella of fifty or so years ago would never have been able to wear, and her tri-color bracelet. Her hair was loose, tumbling around her shoulders and down her back. Both Jasper and Alice liked it best that way.

A gripping sensation overtook her, then. Melancholy pain encountered a reluctant, sad hope within her and she closed her eyes against it. But she had neglected to shield herself so, from the closet, she heard Jasper sigh.

"Bella, sugar."

"Sorry, Jas."

He emerged, shrugging on a dress shirt. Black. In the dim lights of the dance club, his skin would seem pale next to the soft fabric, but not unnaturally so. She eyed the stripe of his bare skin from his throat to his trousers and felt some of the melancholy slide away. _Lickable_. The man was the hottest male on two legs she had ever seen.

His smile was slow. "That's more like it." He slid one hand through her hair and drew her next to him. She inhaled deeply, drawing his dry, fragrant scent of spiced sage into her lungs. Closing his eyes, he sighed, moving in what could be termed slow-motion as he held her tightly. She felt his own pulsation of dejection. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Comfort, reassurance, a sense of resistance – they curled around her as Jasper spoke softly into her hair. "Sweetheart. I'm feeling the same way. So's Alice, but with the addition of her own guilt, you know. She wants you to have a mate – we both do – but I know this is hard. Hard on all of us."

"I don't want to lose you."

"We'll always," he stated, his voice firm, "_always_ be here for you. You will never _lose_ us, Isabella." She didn't doubt him, but she pushed out her own feelings of confusion and wispy desolation. His arms tightened. "Me, too. I feel like that, too. I want it for you, sugar, I do. But I don't know how we're gonna let you go."

"Maybe, maybe we won't see him? Or, if we do, maybe I can just not know it. If he's my mate and I never touch him –"

Jasper chuckled, but it was a sad sound. "And you're just stubborn enough to manage that one, I know."

"I wouldn't have to go with –"

He moved, quickly tilting her head up with the nudge of his curled forefinger. "Yes, yes you will. Trust me."

"But what if he joined us?"

"Huh." Jasper's forehead crinkled with thought. "Well, now. I guess that would depend." She felt unease slipping from his skin where he still held her bare arms. That was followed by a jealousy and watchfulness familiar to her because it was similar – but stronger – than his emotive response to other men looking at either her or Alice. "I don't know how that would work, Bella."

She tried to coax him from his mood. Alice would be done with her video conference soon and they'd be leaving to go dancing. "Now, now, _Major_. Your _coven_ would just get _larger_, you know?"

It worked. She felt his lust practically explode from him, surrounding and infusing her with his desire. "Larger. I know you and Alice like it like that..."

His shirt was on the floor, her dress likewise, leaving her in the heels and nothing more in the blink of an eye. The scent of nutmeg slipped into the room; Alice's appreciative murmurs joining Bella's moans and Jasper's heated directives.

"No, just hold on, Isabella," he insisted, his hands encompassing her hips as his lips skimmed her abdomen. Then, "Oh, Alice..." as his mate undid his trousers and insinuated herself between Bella's calves to take Jasper into her mouth. Bella felt Alice's hand on her ankle and the reverberating passion raced up and down her limbs, curling within her as Jasper's fingers did the same until their cycling climax had her screaming for all of them.

She smiled to watch Jasper whip around her to attack Alice, who met him with lust-filled eyes, still dressed in "business casual" as she hadn't changed for their night out, yet – but that changed in next to no time. Bella stretched out next to the pair, her fingers caressing Alice's now-naked arm after Jasper rolled to his back and impaled their Sprite on his rejuvenated arousal.

But even as she watched, sated and still humming with her own sexual release, Bella felt that melancholy start to rise again. Swiftly, she hid it within herself, shielded away, so that it would not ruin the moment for Jasper and Alice.

A moment that, for her, suddenly felt like "goodbye."

* * *

><p>"Come on, Bella! The water is amazing!" Alice's voice rang out playfully over the mineral-and-gas-fueled fizzling of the sulfur hot springs. They were at the Bela-Bela springs, in Limpopo, South Africa. Just north of Pretoria, the springs were again in the public trust and three vampires had no problem sneaking in during an overcast day. "Really, it's...wow."<p>

Jasper privately felt the sulfur springs reminded him a little of what it felt like when he touched Alice for the first time. The physical manifestation of the mate bond. But he would not say _that_ out loud.

Blowing a breath between his lips, he watched as Bella slipped out of the jeans and top she was wearing. The six months since Alice had had her vision had Bella on a roller coaster of responses, ranging from curiosity to devastation. Right now, she was feeling anxious – the emotion was flaring from her in sharp sheets. With a quick lift of her brow, she met his gaze and winced a little before her emotions went into hiding again.

He cocked his head in minor admonishment. She looked aside and he felt her embarrassment and apology.

They smiled ruefully at one another before Bella leapt into the springs. He swam to her side, reaching her with the speed of a torpedo, and pulled her under the fizzling water, his lips on hers. Alice, moving with the beauty of a mermaid, swam in a spiral around them, her short hair moving in the water with a strange grace – an ethereal quality it didn't have in the air. Bella smiled at her, pushing Jasper aside so as to slide Alice in between them. She held the smaller woman, caressing Alice's bare midriff as their legs kicked together in an oddly synchronized way that managed to keep them moving underwater without sinking too much. Alice clung to each of them, turning to meet Bella's eyes through the bubbling water. Love was there. So were apology and concern and a kind of desperate wistfulness that had Bella enfolding her close to her heart. Jasper propelled the three of them up, breaking through to the surface, arms about one another.

"This is so hard," Alice whispered.

"Let's go home," their coven's leader suggested, cutting short their planned underwater lovemaking session. The overweening combination of desolation and sorrow had subdued everyone's sexual desire. Now, the need for comfort was what pulled at him the most urgently, so he gave them what they all needed from his own remembered feelings. It was the most he could do.

That Alice drew in a quick breath, her usual dynamic motions halted with a hidden vision, only made Jasper wince internally. He didn't ask what she had seen; from her emotions, he could guess it was another fore-seeing of Bella's mate, whoever he was.

The protective male of the Whitlock Coven was divided on different levels. In one area of his awareness, he wanted nothing more than to spirit his ladies away to a private island, where they could enjoy one another and communicate with the outside world via a powerful satellite. This would alleviate the sadness, push back the conflicting feelings he felt from Isabella, and ease all of their minds of the anxiety they'd known since the call from Alistair of York after the latest Cullen Reunion.

Another part of him wanted to call that same person. Alistair. To find out what he knew. If Alistair had indeed found Bella's mate, it would save a lot of wear and tear on everyone's feelings if they were proactive in seeking him out. Then, Bella would feel in control of that situation. She could choose to touch him or get to know him, if she knew his name and location. They could support her, he and Alice, by coming with her to meet him, if she wanted.

Jasper sure as hell didn't plan on letting any male go off with Bella anywhere until he'd passed muster. Mate or not. Jasper loved that woman and he would see to her safety until she told him she could handle it on her own.

In the interests of being as prepared as possible, Jasper addressed both women directly while they waited for a flight from Pretoria to London, from whence they would connect to Chicago and then to Albuquerque, New Mexico. "Alice, I have a question."

Judging from the no-nonsense yet faintly uneven tone of her mate's voice, Alice guessed what he wanted to know. "I told you, I don't know his name. I've only seen his face."

A pulse of curiosity, followed quickly by apology and dread and then swept away by worried anticipation, shot from Bella. She was biting her lower lip, her gaze jerking to his, then away, guilt flaring in jagged edges. Her lips parted as if she'd speak, but then she clearly thought better of it.

Her emotional cycling was making Jasper slightly crazy. With firm hands, he cupped her face. "Isabella. Please, honey. You're killin' me, here." With a look to his mate, he asked, "What is it?" Alice just shook her head until Bella's lips firmed at the same moment as her emotional slate went completely blank. Jasper pushed out a loud breath. _This can't be good_.

"I can't be a coward," Bella stated, straightening her shoulders as they stood near the fabric-covered wall. Around her, she could hear the variety of languages that met in Africa. Inhaling deeply, she thought through what she wanted to say, because this was not going to be easy, perhaps, to hear. Certainly it would be difficult to say. "I feel like I'm hiding. And I don't want to hide. I want to know what he looks like, so I won't always be wondering. I want to know his name, so I can be prepared if I meet someone with that name. I don't want to cringe every time I leave the house, you know?" Tentatively, she reached out to her lovers. "I love us _three_." She did, absolutely. "But I can't shrink away, you know?"

"You are so brave," Jasper whispered, squeezing her hand in his.

Alice nodded, her eyes dark and filled with trepidation as she said, "I can show you what he looks like."

Bella stopped breathing, her mind all over the place. _Yes? No? Maybe? Ignorance is bliss...knowledge is power... _ She hated the idea of not being with Jasper and Alice for another forty years. She hated the idea that she might have a possibly perfect mate out there – one who might be to her what Jasper was to Alice. Not that Jasper wasn't an amazing partner! He was the best she could have imagined, ever, and every year they spent together, the three of them, only served to underline this.

But.

What if? _What. If?_

She, Alice and Jasper held hands, there in the airport, not speaking for a few minutes. Just breathing, inhaling one another's scents, thinking. At last, Jasper heaved in a ragged breath.

"You should call Alistair, Bella. Or Kate. And Alice? You need to show us what he looks like." His words came out heavily, like sodden wood, weighted down with portent.

The elfin face crunched in consternation as Alice slid her hand into her purse to get a pad of paper and a pen. For her, these were constants. "All right. This is what I saw."

They moved, the three of them, so that she could slide down into a plastic chair, Jasper and Bella behind her, each with one hand on a fine-boned shoulder. Bella clutched at Jasper's other hand and watched Alice's gifted fingers sketch rapidly – but not too rapidly. They were getting curious looks as it was. A man's face emerged in graphite on white paper and, as it came into being, Bella felt both anguish in her heart and a smile on her lips.

He was _real_. Jasper pointed to the black-and-white hair and was told "red." Bella traced the penciled jaw: "Red-gold. Stubbled. Freckles," Alice added with a tiny smile as she looked up at Bella. The picture didn't have him smiling, but his eyes were focused and sincere.

Jasper pulled Bella up against his side. Her arm slid around his waist and they both were touching Alice as Bella's phone rang.

* * *

><p>"Her name is Bella."<p>

"He's telling the truth," Maggie had enthused, rolling up and down on her tiny feet, her bright red curls bouncing with glee. "He's got a mate!"

"We need to get you to her, then," Siobhan decreed expansively, her grin broad. "We've got some money saved up, and you can get to her. America, Carlisle said?"

It hadn't take Liam more than a day before he had left Dublin and headed back to Siobhan and Maggie and a telephone. It hadn't taken him more than an hour to be convinced that he should get in touch with Carlisle. Finding him had been a bit tricky, but Siobhan had known whom to call and, like so many dominoes falling in a row, Liam and Carlisle had connected.

"New Mexico is where they have made a semi-permanent residence for themselves, but Carlisle told me they are entirely an independent coven." He thought for a moment. "I don't know the land, there. I need a map."

He had asked Carlisle about Bella, and then the telephone conversation had been interrupted.

"Hello. I'm Edward Cullen."

_Cullen_, Liam had thought. "And? Is that s'posed to mean something?" The _eejit_ had interrupted what Liam considered to be an important conversation.

"If you want to know about Bella, then yes. Alistair said he'd found you and I am very pleased to know you're interested enough to inquire after her."

"Wait. You're the mate to Alistair of York's first-created, are you?" Liam snorted. "I don't know if I want to hear about the _cailín_* from the amadán who left her high and dry."

"It wasn't as if I had a choice," the other man ground out. "You'll discover that for yourself when you meet her."

"_If_ I meet her."

A faint, impatient sound reached Liam's ear. "Fine. So, what do you want to know?"

Struck with such a plain question, Liam had to pause for a second. "Well, now, what's she look like?"

"Five-four – that would be about one hundred, sixty-two centimeters. Brown hair – oh, so much of what made her perfect were what I knew of her as a human..." The vampire's voice trailed off and Liam made a face at his handset.

"Hey? That doesn't help me, now, does it?"

"She'll have golden eyes."

"Like Carlisle's."

"Yes. She's never hunted humans. I am going to assume you do?"

The other man's voice was so patronizing that Liam growled. "It's what we do, _boy-o_. And if she doesn't, well, how can she be a mate for me?"

"Bronwyn didn't hunt animals when we came together. She does, now."

"Aye, well, it's fine for you. So, she's a pretty cailín with golden eyes and a strange conscience, and brown hair. And her name's Bella?" He spoke dismissively, but Liam was in fact intrigued. He had just decided to refuse to indicate this to Bella's ex-husband. "I'd like to speak to Carlisle."

"My apologies," the more familiar voice said almost immediately. "My son is quite concerned about Bella. We all are."

Liam responded to the compassion he heard in Carlisle's voice with an unconscious pass of his hand over his hair. "Is she all right?" he asked, his voice lowered. "After what that man did to her?" Vampires had long-lasting affections even outside of mate-bonds, and he didn't want to think of how it might be if a pair had _not_ split by mutual agreement.

"Er, yes," Carlisle said slowly. "She's doing quite well. Edward feels responsible for her, hence his concern."

"Ah. Well." He didn't know what else to say. "So, if I were to go lookin' for her, where might I start?"

Which brought him to where he was at this precise moment: Heathrow Airport, London. With the assistance of the other members of his coven, he had managed to acquire funds enough for a legitimate ticket to the States. He brought to the forefront of his mind all that he knew about Carlisle and what Bella might see as attractive. The ex-husband he disregarded entirely.

Liam decided he had to imitate a human, so he sat gingerly on a blue plastic seat. He had nothing with which to occupy himself, and only a small travel bag, so after a few minutes, he rose again to find a shop. He should be reading. Some shops did still sell books in print. Having found a book by an American, to try to suss out the American mentality, Liam avoided personal contact with the humans meandering about the concourse.

He felt all was going well until he returned to the waiting area for his flight and caught the scent of three vampires. A trio of them, in a wedge of shadow given by a column and a wall, turned slowly to eye him.

The male was tall and had hair the color of honey. His skin – the visible areas on his jaw and hands – was scarred. Liam knew immediately to be wary of him, so gave a respectful nod. _I'm not messin' with ya, boy-o. Just passin' through_. With him were two females, both with dark hair. The smaller of the two had raven-black hair and looked devastated to see him – something Liam didn't understand at all, at all. The small one gripped the other female's hand protectively, pulling the brown-haired female between herself and the male.

All of them stared at him as if they knew him. He heard the protected one whisper under the muted cacophony of the humans' conversations. She just said two words.

"It's _him_."

* * *

><p>*cailín - Irish Gaelic for <em>young woman<em>

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><p>AN: So...they've seen each other! Next up: they'll SPEAK. If you want to have a sneak peek at what will happen, let me know! I won't spoil you without your express written consent!

I wanted also to inform you that I have entered a story into **The Canon Tour, _New Moon_ Round**. The stories are posted here: **ht tp : / / w ww. fanfiction. net/ u/ 3041014/ thecanontour** in random order. Voting will take place through February 7th. The quality of the stories on The Canon Tour have been of high quality to date, so I encourage y'all to check them out. And maybe even vote! :)

Thanks much! ~ LJ


	4. So I Took Her Hand

**A/N: Welcome back!** I know, I was so **evil** to leave you (and Liam and Bella!) in the airport as I did. Hope to alleviate some of that, er, tension…

Thank you so much for blowing me away with your fabulous comments! Many thanks to **katmom**, as always, for lighting discussion campfires at A Different Forest, too! :)

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><p><strong>Chapter Four: So I Took Her Hand<strong>

Slowly, Liam maneuvered himself to the other side of the small, carpeted area. He paid no heed to the humans around him; his only focus was the trio across the way. What would a coven of vampires be doing here and why did they seem to know him? They had golden eyes, so he guessed they were members of Carlisle Cullen's family, or under his influence in some way. The females – if not all three of them, including the male – seemed to recognize him, but he was sure that he had never seen them before in his existence. Heartbeats faded from his awareness, there was no burn in his throat; all there was, for the moment, was the puzzle before him.

He felt as if he hit a wall before he could get within handshaking distance of the trio. Instinctively, his attention went to the male. If any of them were gifted, it would be him. He was their leader. Their protector. A warrior, clearly, and a damned good one. All those scars were made, Liam was certain, by vampires who shortly thereafter were burned to ash. The little one with the black hair studied him, lips pinched. The male's nose flared and Liam could see how his muscles bunched along his shoulders and down his arms. Liam straightened his own shoulders, feeling his small piece of luggage sway a bit under his shoulder blade. The other female, the one who had apparently recognized him, stared with parted lips that he found quite distracting.

Brown hair. One hundred, sixty-two centimeters. Living with a coven in America but possibly traveling. Liam caught his breath, not quite thinking he had it right, but something in him said he did.

"Bella?" he ventured softly, wonderingly, stepping forward without purposeful effort. The invisible wall the male was likely projecting fell away with the name and a few things happened all at once.

Liam actually stumbled and might have fallen against the woman he _thought_ was Bella except that a powerful arm took the place of the invisible barrier and prevented him. He felt as if he were briefly drowning in an oceanic wave of anxious curiosity so that even though the forearm was still pressing against him, Liam felt unsteady on his own legs. At the same time, the protected female was further obviously moved from his reach, even as she slipped on a pair of leather gloves. He could smell the leather and her own personal scent and the combination made him _ar dáir_*, and he guessed that was immediately obvious by the way the male's attention slid to Liam's own erection, barely concealed by his _briste_* as it was.

Oddly, though he was embarrassed, Liam had to smile. "Maybe I should start off by introducing m'self," he said after a thick moment passed. "I'm Liam Maguire, from Ireland. I think I've heard of you lot, but only if you're acquainted with one Carlisle Cullen. Is he your sire, any of you?"

"No," they all chimed in on a breath.

The male stepped out in front, pushing both of the others behind him, but mostly seeming to stay in front of the taller of the two females. "Jasper Whitlock. Carlisle did not sire us, but we do follow his diet, as it were, and stick to hunting animals."

No hand was offered, so Liam didn't extend his, either. Wariness was apparent in the warrior's stance and Liam didn't want to come off as aggressive. "I see." Odd, but their hunting had no bearing on the current situation. "And..." he prompted, nodding at the fae-looking female.

"My mate, Alice. And this," Whitlock added slowly, "is Isabella. Or, Bella, as you said." He brought her forward, his arm coming around her from behind, brushing her breast, his hand flaring with clear possession over Bella's stomach. Alice, the one introduced as his _mate_, held Bella's hand in one of hers, while Whitlock's other arm encircled her shoulders.

All three of them...together? If not, then it was the impression they clearly wanted to give, but Liam had the feeling that he was seeing truly. He couldn't help the sudden leaps in his imagination. Two women to one man? _Lucky bastard_. Though he had lived with Siobhan and Maggie for decades, they had never been involved with him like that – though occasionally Siobhan had, for old times' sake, liked to get up to an exuberant round of sex. He could imagine the blond warrior on the receiving end of both the females' attentions...

And there he went again. And Whitlock cocked a brow at him and Liam offered him an apologetic smile and half a shrug. Surely, if he was indeed with both women, Liam's own response wasn't unique among people they met.

He forced himself to focus on speaking, not imagined threesomes. "I've spoken to Carlisle Cullen about you," he said to establish a common ground.

"And Alistair?" Bella asked, her voice reaching his ear like a caress. It was a bit unnerving but also appealing. "Did you speak to him, too?" Now, her voice held an edge and he couldn't understand why.

"I did," he said smoothly. "Terse lad. He found me in Dublin, turned around and left again. Not much for speeches, is he?" When Bella's lips twitched against a smile, Liam felt something in his chest tighten. "Is that his gift? Findin', er, folks?" He didn't want to say the "m-word," just then. Not when Bella – who had looked so anxious before – had just started to almost smile for him.

Her smile bloomed for real, then. "No. He was annoyed to have been asked, he said."

"Ah." The atmosphere felt brittle, and Liam was not wanting to say the wrong thing. At the moment, they were talking peaceably enough. "So, where're you headin'?"

"Home," Whitlock stated flatly. "You?"

_New Mexico in the States. Right. _ A little nervous, but also a wee bit excited, Liam found Bella's golden eyes. "Actually, I was coming t'look for you."

* * *

><p>Jasper was all over Liam Maguire. Empathically speaking. Alice had captured him perfectly: the sincere intensity of his expression, his stance, the set of his jaw. When Bella had instinctively shielded them all upon seeing he would approach them, Jasper had wanted to snap at her to drop her shield. She would have, at such a demand, but he could not allow her to feel exposed at such a time. So, he had overridden his instinct and allowed hers to be dominant.<p>

Until it wasn't.

Curiosity, interest, lust – all these did the empath sense from the man who had been said to be Bella's mate. These emotions were not uncommon; many men regarded Jasper's ladies with such feelings. But Maguire's emotional map was laced through with a genuine compassion and wish to please. The hope that colored the Irishman's feelings was something Jasper didn't even think Maguire was aware of, as he spoke of meeting Alistair of York and talking to Carlisle.

It was that hope that went a good way to calming Jasper himself and, through his gift, his mate. Alice held back – her effort to do so fairly churning within her – as Maguire spoke with Bella while they waited for their boarding call. Bella stood within reach of both of them but not touching either of them as she and Maguire exchanged polite information.

No one mentioned the mate-bond prospect. It was as if they had heard of one another through mutual friends and were getting acquainted at a human cocktail party.

"I've never been to New Mexico," Maguire was saying, his stance easy, but his focus tight on Bella's expressions. Jasper felt a smile tugging at his lips even as pain corkscrewed his heart. "I've seen pictures, though. There's a beauty to be had with all that open sky, I'm thinkin'. I bet the stars shine clear at night, yeah?"

Bella nodded, her hands clasped tightly together. "It's beautiful. We spend a lot of time stargazing," she admitted, glancing toward her loves with a private smile. Jasper felt the wave of reassuring love that she sent him, crested as it was with the distinctive tinge of remembered mischief. Forty years together had given her plenty of time to practice a clarity of emotional communication that few bothered to learn.

Alice leaned deliberately into his side, pulling him close and pressing her cheek to his ribs. Her ability to be understood through the sole use of emotive outpouring was almost unparalleled. Pride – familial, sisterly as well as wifely – slid from Alice is soothing sheets. He basked in it, reminding himself that her love was enough for him – it had been for over a century and it would continue to be for centuries more. The love he felt for Bella was strong and passionate – he felt wounded, seeing her talking with Maguire, knowing who and what the other male was – but it was not the same.

Still, the pain was pervasive and he tried not to project it. That he failed he knew when he felt Bella's guilt sparking in sharp, poignant darts.

"Now boarding Flight 1627 to Chicago and continuing to Albuquerque."

"Maguire. I guess we'll see you in Chicago?" Jasper asked, interrupting the semi-private conversation. Liam had already showed Bella his boarding pass and it wasn't for the first class section in the front of the plane. Jasper was entirely okay with that. He wanted to be able to talk to Bella privately.

Alice, shooting him an amused look, still supported him. "Maybe we can get your tickets changed for the last leg of the trip. Right now," she added, linking her arm through Bella's, "I need some girl time with my best girl." She winked and Jasper felt the new spike of lust from Maguire.

His mate was faking it, but Jasper appreciated her efforts. It was odd, because Alice was such a genuine little woman when it was just the three of them. Secretive sometimes, but she didn't hide that she was hiding something. They had all learned to respect each others' space. And now, she wasn't being entirely genuine in her apparent nonchalance of meeting this man who might be _– might_, since Bella had not tested the mate-bond yet with skin on skin contact – the man who would take their beloved Bella from them.

Still, she was still theirs and, as they boarded the plane, Bella did not look back at Liam Maguire.

In the plane, Bella curled up next to the window, holding Alice's hand. First class overseas seating only had two seats together, not three, on this airline; Jasper sat behind them. As the other passengers made their way onto the plane, the two women tangled their fingers together caressingly, leaning in to each other and taking comfort in the familiar scents and soft whispers they shared.

"You okay?" Alice asked.

Bella nodded. "Yeah. Is he really who you saw?"

"Yeah." Then, "Wow." Then, with a deep look, Alice added, "Bella...I don't want to like him. But I want to _love_ him for you and I want so much for you. _So much_," she repeated, her voice breaking gently.

Pressure seemed to fill Bella's chest as she nuzzled Alice's temple. "I'm afraid."

"I know."

"What if he is?" Alice drew in a breath and Bella slid her shield to encompass just the two of them. "I can't bring myself to test it yet, Al. I want to, but I don't want to lose you and Jasper." A huge bubble of loss – a bubble such as used to be seen at a tar pit or some such thing – felt ready to pop within Bella and she fought to keep it from exploding and filling her with sorrow. "I love us three."

"Me, too. But – But you know we support you, right? You don't have to test the bond. You don't, not if you're not wanting to, or if you're not ready." Alice gripped her hands firmly, lips set with decision. "And when you are, we're here for you, okay? Any way you need us. We love you. So much."

A sob shook Bella then and she allowed her shield to slip. Jasper rose from his seat, his hands lightly caressing each of their heads, so that he could more directly share his calming gift with them.

When Bella could look up again, it was to see the shaded burgundy eyes of Liam Maguire – the man Alistair had called them about in Africa. The man Alice had seen visions of more than once. The man with whom Bella had conversed with a degree comfort not long before.

The man who might be _– might_, since she hadn't confirmed it yet – her mate. Bella had no idea how closely her thoughts were aligning with her coven leader's, but if she had, it might have made her want to cry.

_Liam_.

He paused, though there was a press of passengers behind him. "Hello, Bella." His voice was low and his words unexceptional, but the slight smile he offered her was charismatic. Maybe it was the accent?

"Hi, Liam."

"See you in Chicago?"

"I'll be there."

His grin pressed the tar-textured sorrow-bubble down in her chest and she smiled back at him.

"Sugar?" Jasper's fingers slid deftly through her hair as Liam disappeared into the coach section of the plane.

Bella shifted her focus to her lover, her hand smoothing over his as it pressed gently on her head. "I'm fine," she assured him, doing her best to project the most positive of her feelings. Her love for him and Alice, the lessening of the sorrow when Liam smiled at her, the confidence she felt in the triadic relationship as a member of the Whitlock Coven. If a little of her sense of impending loss slid through all of that, she couldn't help it.

Jasper's bright eyes bored into hers, his gift palpable as he sorted through all of what she was trying to express for him. The coach passengers shuffled past, Alice held Bella's hand, and the three of them nodded in unison. All was as well as it could be.

For the present.

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><p>He hadn't fed before the flight, so as not to have crimson eyes and cause concern among humans, so Liam had to draw upon his innate self-discipline to appear relaxed as he sat on the aisle seat near the rear of the airplane. The young woman next to him would occasionally try to draw him into conversation; he was uninterested. His mind was almost entirely with Bella up in First Class.<p>

She was a fine one, to be sure. Beautiful. Articulate. A good conversationalist. She was also a woman who was regarded as a treasure by those who knew and loved her. And that, to Liam, was like the call of the mythic Siren. Her value was both evident and hidden. She did not appear mysterious but she was, in many ways.

He wanted to touch her. To feel the smooth skin of her cheek. To know if Alistair of York had been blowing air out his arse. He wanted to ask about the situation with those with whom she traveled. Had he guessed truly about them or were they just very _close_? From what he had witnessed as he boarded the aircraft – the women were touching each other, all but _kissing_, right there in front of God and all the saints – the relationship was _intimate_.

But they were vampires. It could just be a disguise they used. Still, it was a disguise that had his mind very busy while the humans around him dozed and read and pushed past to use the loo. Long sable hair over perfect white breasts, hands on one another, the frantic rhythm of a good, hard –

"And as we descend into Chicago, the temperature is seventy-two degrees. If you're leaving us here, thank you for flying with us. If you're seeking a connecting flight, check our displays in the concourse. For those of our passengers continuing on to Albuquerque, we ask you to please stay in your seats so that we can get a headcount and then you will be free to move about the cabin. Thank you."

A new sense of anticipation went through Liam at the announcement. He would see what he could do to move his seat, perhaps, so he could spend time with her. Perhaps the flight to New Mexico would not be full. Perhaps they could just stand and talk near the rear emergency door with its small bit of square floor.

Perhaps he could get her to take off her gloves, just long enough to find out if it was really as that fellow had said.

What if it wasn't? He liked her anyway and she might be open to another man in her life.

The transitional time between flights left him with little time to speak to the group of vampires, save to arrange to meet them after they got off the plane.

"I look forward to seeing your corner of the world," he told Bella as they stood pretending to brace an interior wall at the front of the First Class compartment. Her scent – flowers and sunshine – teased his senses.

"It's a pretty corner," she said in reply. "We've traveled a lot, Jasper and Alice and I, for work and, um, play." The way her eyes dropped and her lips curled made him sure that the threesome factor was indeed present with the other coven.

"What is it you _work_ on?" he asked. Her eyes lit up as she discussed the educational projects they had undertaken, the text books, the classes taught...

"Well, if you aren't amazing," he murmured. His hand started moving to brush along her cheek, just for a moment. He had let himself not think about the damned possibility of a mate-bonding with her; he just wanted to _touch_ her...

She shied away. "Sorry. I just – I can't."

He dropped his hand and moved away from her. On his way back to his seat, he all but ran into Whitlock, who pinned him with his gaze. Even though he wanted to make a good impression on Bella, Liam stood up to the warrior. "What do you want?"

The other man grimaced and, with a jerk of his head, he indicated the two of them should go back to Liam's seat before the new passengers boarded. "Just for a second, all right?"

What could he do? "Sure." Pitching his voice so low it couldn't be heard by vampire ears in the front of the plane, Liam turned to face Whitlock. "Look. I'm not gonna hurt the lady, all right? You don't have to –"

Irritation frizzled at his nerve endings when the blond male spoke. "I just wanted to tell you, Maguire, that we want the best for our Bella. We do. We won't make her do anything she doesn't want, but we still think she should get to make her own choices, all right?" An accent recognizable to Liam as "cowboy Texan" seemed to underline Whitlock's words. "You're welcome to do your best to help her make that choice."

Liam then felt like laughing, though he didn't know why. He stifled the mirth within his chest. "Well, good. I'd like to try my own self."

"We'll do our best, Alice and I."

"All right, then."

"Gentlemen? We're going to be boarding for the Albuquerque leg of our trip, so it's time to get back to your seats," the flight attendant said. She was fresh-faced, with clear brown eyes and a throat that made Liam remember he would need to feed sooner rather than later. He and Whitlock smiled politely and did as they'd been instructed.

The entire flight, he thought of different ways to check this – this thing between him and Bella. Once, he was sure he heard a high-pitched squeal before the tiny female – Whitlock's mate, Alice – came all but skipping back to see him. "That's the best idea. Do that." With a grin, she turned and hurried back to her seat.

Bemused, he supposed that simple was best, after all. He let it go while the plane was in the air, and thought instead about playing his guitar. He strummed strings in his mind, modulating chords, plucking arpeggios, and imagining that Bella would have a rich singing voice...

At length, when the plane landed and the Whitlock coven had gone to collect their luggage, Liam went with them. "You don't have anything, then?"

"Only my guitar," he told the little one. She grinned up at him, not seeming overshadowed by any kind of sadness at all. "Do you play?"

"Jasper does."

Liam felt highly energized, as he might after a particularly lush feeding, as he climbed into the back seat of Whitlock's sedan. Here he was, thousands of miles from home, sitting next to a beautiful female who might or might not be his mate, in a car driven by a relative stranger. He was going to a place he had never seen for an unknown length of time...

It was exciting.

"Will you play for me – for us – when we get home?" Bella asked softly. In front, the other two were clearly pretending that he and Bella didn't exist and Liam was fine with that.

"Oh, aye. Would you play for me?"

She laughed lightly. "I don't know how."

"I can teach you," he said, half-turning on the leather seat to watch her directly. "It would be fun."

Her lips quirked. "Thank you. I'd like that."

"One thing, though," he whispered, leaning closer to her. She allowed him to do so, though he could see she was clearly a bit uncomfortable. "You'll have to take off the gloves if you're going to play." _Ha, give her a bit of innuendo and see what she does with it, lad..._

Her lashes lowered as she eased back and away from him. _Damn_. Disappointment thudded heavily in his chest, but he tried not to let it show.

It therefore came as something of a sensual surprise when movement slid at the edges of his vision. Brown on brown – leather caressing leather – smoothed to pale on pale. Skin on skin.

Bella had removed her gloves.

The car had stopped. He didn't move. Whitlock and the fae-lass left the vehicle. Liam still didn't move. His entire attention was locked on the bare-handed woman next to him. When she remained stone-still, he tried one more thing. He held out his hand, palm up. The simple, direct idea he had had earlier.

Bella's eyes shot to his, her brows arched high into her forehead before they angled into a thoughtful frown. Then, almost as if she were afraid he'd change his mind, she slid her hand to his, palm to palm, and gripped him with conviction.

"Oh," she breathed.

* * *

><p>*ar dáir - Irish Gaelic for "like (an) oak" or "horny" - Irish Dictionary Online<p>

*briste - trousers, Gaelic

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><p>Personally, I loved the term for "horny." Ar dáir. Yep. I could go for that. ;-)<p>

I have a teaser all set and ready for Chapter Five. As always, I only spoil you when you ask, because I don't want anyone to feel I've thrust the future on them unaware.

A quick reminder that I have anonymously entered a story into **The Canon Tour, **_**New Moon**_** Round**. The stories are posted here: **ht tp : / / w ww. fanfiction. net/ u/ 3041014/ thecanontour** in random order. Voting will take place through February 7th. I encourage y'all to check them out. And maybe even vote! :)

Have a great weekend! ~ LJ


	5. Conscience Flyin Somewhere in the Wind

**A/N:** Have I mentioned how y'all have blown me AWAY? Well, you have. Thank you so much for engaging yourselves in this story. You are brave and so much fun! Thanks for the amazing reviews. I have had a huge smile on my face for DAYS. Many thanks especially to **KATMOM**, for lighting fires at A Different Forest (w ww. adifferentforest. com) and to **EVIEEDEN** who made a banner for the story proper. It's visible at my Twilighted profile page: h t tp: / / twilighted. net / viewuser. php? uid =56 865

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><p><strong>Chapter Five: Conscience Flyin' Somewhere in the Wind<strong>

Clouds skated high in the sky, dividing the sunshine into streamers that angled to the desert floor outside the adobe house. Jasper and Alice sat on the edge of a fountain that used reclaimed waste water to spout sparkling arcs of liquid into the dry air. Their eyes were on the fountain, but neither were paying it any kind of real attention.

Curiosity pulsed to the empath from his psychic spouse. He hefted her to his lap, feeling how she filled his arms even while part of him missed holding two women simultaneously. _You knew this would happen, Whitlock. Don't make it worse. _He kissed Alice's head and shared with her what he felt flaring from the car.

Trepidation. Hope. Determination – that came from Maguire. The man had a distinctive emotive signature that was very strong. Made Jasper wonder how the hell Maguire had stayed under the radar for so long.

_Maybe Edward was right about Alice not searching as much as she might have, but hell, we've been happy. Bella, too. Who would ask for more? _Search_ for more?_

Alice sighed as he communicated the emotions to her through the caress of his fingers. "Is he the one?"

"I don't know yet. They haven't – oh, damn!" He came to his feet immediately, still cradling Alice in his arms, as an explosion of warmth reached him from the sedan. The impact of the mate bond was unique in the vampire experience. It happened only once and, frankly, Jasper felt privileged to behold it again. The deeply-reaching connection hit his midsection, the warmth of the frisson of the initial bonding tickled his skin, the wonder of the moment coming from two different emotional conductors. "Now they have, and yes, Mary Alice. Yes, he is."

At first, Alice beamed up at him, capturing his mouth in an exuberant kiss that echoed what he felt (and projected to her) from Bella and Maguire. Jasper relished the participation-at-one-remove while part of his mind rejoiced for his Isabella. But then, with an abrupt twist in his chest, he gasped and pressed his lips to Alice's throat.

His Isabella? Not anymore. Not his. Not _theirs_. _Not anymore_. Pain blew through him, right at the sternum, and he and Alice both collapsed to the hard limestone of the patio paving, a low, mournful, keening sound coming from each throat.

Within the car, Bella was surrounded by awe. And a sudden, profound understanding of her ex-husband. This – _this_ was what he had experienced, all those decades ago.

Warmth, a feeling of fulfillment, of rightness. The sensation of her granite interior being settled with a heretofore unknown order, of comfort. A feeling almost like submersing herself in the mineral hot springs while having an intense orgasm. All of that slammed into her the instant she took Liam's hand, holding her motionless as she absorbed it all.

Then, her eyes met the rapidly-darkening ones of the man whose hand she held. Her mate? Jasper said she'd recognize it – it only happened once. The Big Change. "Liam..." She needed him. Needed him in a way that she had never needed anyone. For forty years, she had lived and loved with the Whitlocks and it had been beautiful, but never had they called to her quite like _this_. Her skin felt like it was going to fuse to his. She inhaled his scent, drawing it deeply within her. He smelled like mint and new leaves and ginger. Smiling into his eyes, she murmured, "I guess he was right, then? Alistair?"

Liam huffed out what sounded like half a laugh. "Seems that way. But," he went on, moving so that his hands slid slowly up her arms to brace her throat before cupping her face, "I'd rather not be talkin' about him just now."

"Me, either," she said on a breath, scooting toward him as he did her. He had such a nice mouth, even with the stubble, and she was briefly reminded of a man she had seen, so long ago, with a jaw like that. Maturity, it had meant to her, then. It did now, too. The lips skimming her skin were the lips of a man, not a boy.

Man. Major. Jasper. Alice.

Devastating pain crashed into her and Liam just before his lips reached hers. "Oh!"

Liam jerked his head back. "Wha' th' _fook_?"

Instinct brought Bella to surround herself and her mate with her shield – an instantaneous response to the emotional onslaught they had experienced. Guilt followed. "Oh..."

"What the _hell_ was that? And where the _fook_ did it go?" Liam demanded. Shoulders tense, he had pulled her into his lap in an action as instinctive in its need to protect as her own had been. Without the reminder of the hurting hearts outside, Bella knew she would want nothing more than to peel away Liam's shirt and curl up naked next to his skin. But –

She needed the newly-found comfort of his scent. Burrowing her nose into the hollow of his throat, she felt her chest tighten with her guilt and sorrow. "That was Jasper. He's an empath, and he projects feelings."

"By all the saints," Liam whispered. His body tensed and he put her slightly away from him so he could turn to peer out the window. His movements were swift and shielding. "Stay here, I'll see –"

"No, wait," Bella insisted, holding on to him. "I think I know what it is. Let me."

Liam's eyes lost their protective menace as he caught her gaze. "_Muirnín_,*" he murmured, brow furrowed. Then, he stopped and pressed his lips together. "All right."

They both left the car, their hands joined even as Bella hurried to the crumpled couple on the patio. "Jas! Alice!" she cried. "It's my fault..."

"What?" Liam asked, sounding rightfully confused. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Breath coming in pants, Bella reached with her free hand toward Jasper and Alice. The pair of them gripped her while Liam pressed himself against her back. She felt as if her mind were unraveling. Needing to enfold Liam in her arms, wanting to immerse herself in discovering him, learning why he was her mate – how they fit together on every level – she desired to run with him to a quiet corner and spend the next year talking, feeling, _sensing_ him.

But.

Her heart cried out to comfort her partners. She did love them, still. She _did_. Why did she still feel like this when she had a _mate_? Granted, it wasn't exactly the same, but she still loved them, so much...!

A tornado seemed to possess her awareness, churning within her. The need to comfort and love Jasper and Alice pushed against her need for her mate, the man who still held her against his body, even as it seemed they fell together to sit with the Whitlocks. No words did she have, not one. All she could do was push her feelings out toward the leader of her coven while turning in Liam's arms so that she could hold him, too. She could not bear _not_ to be touching him.

After what seemed the entire afternoon, though the sun hadn't moved over the clouds and no new shadows had developed, Jasper blanketed them all with a soothing calm. Bella marveled and breathed deeply.

"Isabella," he cautioned, "no guilt. We discussed this."

Alice, her arms entwined around Jasper, offered a smile that appeared _almost_ effortless. Bella was gratified that Liam was included in Alice's look. "Bella, it's all going to be perfect. You should talk to Liam and _explain_," she advised, her tone rich with that last word.

After studying both of them for another long moment, Bella nodded. "We'll be back."

"Can someone tell me what's going on? Please?" Liam asked, tried patience straining each syllable he uttered.

That she had not yet kissed him suddenly shifted to the forefront of Bella's awareness. As Jasper and Alice offered polite nothings before disappearing indoors, Bella nuzzled Liam's throat before sliding from his embrace and rising to her feet. "I will. Come."

He stood, but didn't make a move to leave the area. "Bella." His arms encompassed her, filling her senses with his physical presence. "Are you all right?" Hands moved restlessly, reassuringly against her back, fingers in her hair as he studied her with visible concern. "Did the empath cause you any pain?" Brows furrowed, he seemed to delve deeply into her. "Muirnín, I'm not used to feeling like – like this and I know he's a tried warrior and the leader of your coven and all, but I'll take him apart if he's hurt you."

She felt his fingers flex at the small of her back and ducked her chin to press his chest with her forehead. "I'm so sorry for worrying you. It's a long story."

To her surprise, he laughed – a delightful, deep sound that rumbled against her and lit up his face. Sunlight pierced the clouds and his skin shone brightly while she watched him. His face wasn't smoothly handsome as Edward's had been, nor was it accented with sharp lines as Jasper's was. Liam's face was rugged, mobile, attractive and appealing without making her feel inadequate in any way. "How old were you, when you were changed? How long ago was that?"

"Well, now, that came out yer – ah, out of nowhere. I guess we have more questions than mine to answer, eh?" She watched him speak, her fingers skimming up his chest to his face to caress the dimple on one side of his smile, up his cheeks, fingers spreading to encompass his temples and then his forehead. His eyes slid shut and his chest rumbled with contentment. "There's a woman," he murmured. He drew her nearer still, running his nose along hers.

Bella felt her lips curve into a welcoming smile. _Yes, yes, yes..._ With a slight nudge, he reached her, firm and definite. No quick pass with this man; his mouth encompassed hers with a thoroughness that left her utterly at his mercy. _More, more, more_... He moaned softly as his body hardened against her. She wanted to climb right inside him and breathe him in. She swept her hands into his short, thick hair, enjoying the textures of it. One of his hands moved higher to brace her shoulder, as if to meld her to his torso.

Heat coiled within her, deep and powerful. When his lips slid from hers to trail down her throat, she sighed, missing his taste.

Movement caught the corner of her eye – a small, dark head in an upper window. Alice waved, smiled and disappeared.

"Liam," Bella managed to say, "we should talk."

His breath caressed her just behind her ear. "I know, but –"

"Yeah."

"Still." With a lopsided smile, he held her to him by the hips, making very sure she understood that talking was not what he _really_ wanted to do. "You're right."

With a glance at the now-empty window, Bella sighed lightly. "Let's take a walk. A mile should do it."

He laughed. "A mile?" Burgundy eyes danced. "Why so far?"

With a rueful smile, Bella indicated the house with a motion of her hand. "Jasper has a long reach where I'm concerned."

Liam sobered. "Oh, aye. All right, then." With a lift of his brow, he blew out a breath and took one of her hands. "Lead on, Macduff."

With human-paced steps, she chose a path that would lead back beyond the house, into a semi-wilderness that she, Jasper and Alice owned. "You know how that saying got started? Some drunk in London back in the nineteenth century." After a beat, she looked up at Liam. "Are you that old?"

"Oh, no. I was born in the twenties on a farm west of Dublin. I was changed to be like I am when I was thirty." Sand crunched under their feet as the sun slipped west. He told her of what he remembered of his human life, his continued existence.

"What about your sire?"

He halted briefly. "Not now, Bella. Later, all right?"

Taken aback, she nodded. "Tell me about what you like to do when you're not globe-trotting and trying to find your mate," she invited.

"No, now it's your turn," he countered. "Are we a mile away, yet?" The sky had grown darker and a soothing breeze blew over the land, bringing the scent of sagebrush and minerals.

"Yes. So."

A medium-sized granite boulder retained the day's heat and she led him to it, hopping lightly to land on its slanted top. With a roguish grin, Liam joined her, pulling her so that she was settled between his legs. She sighed and leaned against him as they watched the sun sink below a line of trees far away. "I've gotta ask, muirnín –"

"What's that mean?"

"Sweetheart. It's Gaelic."

"Ah. Thank you," she said, sinking as deeply against him as she could. "So, what do you want to know?"

His chin resting on her head, he simply said, "Everything." When she drew circles on his knees with her fingers, he relented. "All right. Let's start with this: You are part of this coven. How does it work? As I _am_ your mate, I should know."

When Bella sighed, he could feel her move against his body and he knew this was the big question. The hard one. He could have inquired about Edward Cullen. He could have asked about why she was not with Carlisle. But he sensed that this was the hard question and, after he had seen her emotional response to the warrior and his mate earlier, Liam _needed_ to know.

"Alice and Jasper took me in when Edward met his mate. I couldn't stay with his family, Liam."

"Of course not," he said into her fragrant hair. Breathing her in soothed him and he hoped he did the same for her.

"They were my best friends. They helped me get over Edward – to keep moving forward and doing new things. We...grew closer. And one day, we realized that we'd fallen in love with each other, beyond being friends."

Liam blew out a breath. "How long ago was that?" Yes, she was his mate, but he didn't know her – would he have to win her from the blond warrior? Would he have to show her a better life than what she had here? Could he? Would she expect him to? Liam felt his gut clench, as if he would lose her and he had only barely met her.

"About forty years," she whispered, her voice barely reaching his ears. She was tense against him. "We've been committed to one another for that long. I was with them as a housemate for almost five years before that."

"Shite." He didn't know what to say to that. "So, you're with them? Lovers?" By the saints, he couldn't help his body's response to even _thinking_ it.

"Um, yes. I mean, Alice and I don't feel like that, but, um, we've done things, yes. Kind of, well, for Jasper."

Liam swore softly and Bella wiggled her arse into his erection. "All right, all right. That's enough of _that_, Bella."

"But normally, when we're, um, together? She and I hold hands or just touch each other. Like on the back or something. But with Jasper? Yes." She held utterly still and her voice sounded tight when she added, "When I loved Edward, and he met Bronwyn, he said he didn't love me anymore. And he left me. I was devastated, Liam. I hate hurting them like that. It's –" Silent sobs shook her and Liam had to turn her around and cradle her more securely against himself.

"Bella, Bella. Muirnín. I saw that. I did. But I also saw them wish you well."

"We – we talked about this, Liam. We did. From the beginning, we've talked about what would happen if I met my mate. If I met _you_," she said, turning her face up to his. Her eyes were glossy with unexpressed sorrow and he ached with it. "And now that I have, I know – know why Edward left me. Why he had to. But, I don't know what to do, Liam."

"This is your home, Isabella," he said, remembering the name Whitlock had used for her at first, back in Heathrow. "And I want to be where you are."

"That's what I want, too. I do. I'm just, just – I feel like I'm going to be making everyone hurt on my account. You, Jasper, Alice. Everyone. I hate that. I hate ruining lives like that!"

"_Na, na*_, Bella. They love you. I need you. We know how you feel, all of us." Liam pressed a kiss to her head and she sighed and he sighed and then their mouths found each other again, open and seeking and tasting and he felt her through every inch of himself. He wanted to plunder, to caress, to take her, to be taken, to just hold her, to be held...

He wanted it all.

He wanted all of her. But he realized she would have to resolve the relationship she was in now and he did not want to push her; the poor woman was already in agonies.

Oh, but she tasted good, though...

Darkness grew and they continued to talk. They marveled together over the similarity in their gifts and he was filled with pride that she was so gifted and had learned to wield her shield well. She was a capable woman. And that the warrior had taught her to fight was just plain sexy.

More problematic was the psychic. "Can she see us?"

"I can keep her out, sometimes, but it takes some doing."

"Oh, I can understand that," he acknowledged. "Keeping my sire blind was a bit of a drain, too." Curiosity sparked in her beautiful golden eyes but he shook his head. "Not now, muirnín, yeah?"

"All right."

In gratitude, he kissed her again – any excuse or none – and it was only when they stopped that his new mate – _Mate! Imagine!_ – whispered. "I – We – should be getting back, Liam. They'll wonder how we're doing."

"And Whitlock will be able to tell, won't he?"

Her smile was small, but mischievous as she rose and leapt lightly to the sandy ground. "Unless I cover you."

He grinned. "Ah, don't tempt a fella newly mated..."

"You're not the only one," she informed him, brow lifted.

"Now you're askin' for it!"

Laughing, she ran from him in the direction from which they'd come, earlier. He chased her gladly, catching her up and tucking her against himself as they reached the desert house, where lights were shining in most of the windows.

It was so human-feeling, and suddenly, Liam felt rather thirsty...

_Well, that's gonna be a problem too, isn't it, now?_ he mused as he followed Bella into the house. Her ex-husband said she'd never hunted their rightful prey.

"Bella! Liam! About time you came back," the tiny fae-lass called from a tile-floored room with a fireplace in one corner. "We're looking forward to getting acquainted."

Bella dropped his hand and stood about eight inches away from him. Though he didn't know her well, instinct told him that the taut lines of her body meant that she was waiting for something from the other two – her lovers, her friends. The three of them, he just noticed, all wore matching bracelets of three different colors of gold. _Huh_.

He put the new information away and focused on what was before him, hoping that whatever Bella needed, they would give her. Or he'd have to smack one or both of them against a wall himself!

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><p>*muirnín - sweetheart<p>

*na, na - No, no

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><p><strong>AN:** When I wrote this, my only frame of timeline reference was **The Twilight Lexicon**. I haven't read any of the supplemental Twilight Guides or anything, so I was just going off what I knew from the books and that one website. For the purposes of this AU, we're gonna stick with that.

A quick peek into Friday is available if you wish to see it. Remember to ask specifically since I refuse to mess with you without your express knowledge and consent!

And, erm, one last plug for The Canon Tour, where I am entered anonymously. ht tp: / / ww w. fanfiction. net/ u/ 3041014/ thecanontour - Today is the FINAL day to read and vote!

See you Friday!


	6. Steer Us Through the Stormy Waters

**A/N:** You guys are fabulous. I love that you're loving Liam. I love that **Twiolic** said, "Edward who?" in a campfire at A Different Forest. I am so pleased that y'all are giving him a chance. :) Thank you! Thanks, too, to **KATMOM the MAGNIFICENT** for her keen fire-lighting skills. :) I heart you!

**Last minute add**: FFn was offline for "back ending" it today, so I'm only now able to post. Thank you to EACH and EVERY ONE of you who sought out this story at A Different Forest and Twilighted. :) I loved hearing from you in new venues! )

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><p><strong>Chapter Six: Steer Us Through Stormy Waters<strong>

She didn't want to ask, but knew she was projecting her need for reassurance in wide sweeps of emotion. Alice did not look tense as much as anticipatory, but Bella was actually focused on Jasper. He represented so much, to her. Stability, love, structure, protection, pleasure. So much.

When he moved around the sofa, Alice joined him and the three of them embraced with firm assurance in their living room. No caresses – Bella didn't know how she felt about that, but right then, the only hands she wanted to feel on her skin were Liam's. Not that she didn't want Jasper, but she felt in her depths that there was unfinished business yet with Liam Maguire and she wanted to finish it. Thoroughly.

Their sighs were heartfelt and Jasper did not withhold his gift from her – allowing her to feel truly all he was feeling. Love, loss, reassurance, wistfulness, joy, relief, admiration...

If she could have blushed, she would have.

After a few minutes, she let Jasper and Alice go and watched them settle on the sofa. Relieved, with a hand extended to Liam, Bella moved to the smaller love seat and tugged him down to join her. Turning immediately, she brushed her nose against the strong column of his throat, tasting him as she did with the tip of her tongue. She couldn't seem to help herself. They weren't joined, yet. Mated, but not joined, and something within cried out for that to happen as soon as possible. Or sooner.

His arm encircled her, pulling her to his lap. She felt him hard under her and swallowed.

Alice giggled. Jasper cleared his throat. Abashed, Bella apologized. "Sorry. I'm, um..."

"We totally remember," Alice assured her. Then, she climbed into Jasper's embrace. And though Bella knew that only the day before, she would have been on Jasper's other thigh, at that moment she was happiest where she was, on her own with her own mate.

_Mate. I have a mate! _

Liam laughed softly. "Well, then. I s'pose the best thing to do is to tell you that I was on my way to find you when we met. I've spoken with Carlisle – I've known him for a while – and he told me how to find you."

Bella did her best to keep the self-protective layer of her shield down; she wanted Jasper to feel everything both she and Liam felt so that he could think without being more frustrated than he clearly was already. Jasper's expression was calm as he said, "Came as a surprise, but I can't say that it's a bad one. I was thinking that I was going to ask Bella if she wanted to try to find you, so she'd be prepared."

Surprised, Bella blinked. "Oh. Well, I guess that's moot."

"Yep."

Then followed much of the getting-to-know-you give and take that she and Liam had already covered. Bella used the time they spoke to try to analyze how she felt. What was different, in her heart? What choices she would have to make – for choices there were, but she felt she would be able to make them. Her decades in a secure and loving relationship had served to strengthen her and generally eliminate any wrongly-held ideas about unworthiness she had harbored for most of her life before.

She allowed herself to dwell, too, upon Liam Maguire. He just appealed to her in so many ways. The rough edges she found herself swooning privately over, his sense of humor, his willingness to be with her without pushing for more than she was offering – even though she guessed that he wanted her as she did him. She _wanted_...

"– Bella?" Jasper's voice reached her and she didn't try to hide her embarrassed smile. He grinned right back at her, which did, frankly, ease a subtle pressure within her. "I'd like to have a word with Ma – with Liam."

It wasn't that Jasper sounded threatening, but Bella knew him and knew how protective he was of her and of Alice and she was suddenly rather worried that Jasper would go all Coven Leader – hot in the bedroom, but _not_ when confronting Bella's true mate.

A gentle wash of humor blew over her. Liam cocked his head and met her eye. "Empathic thing?" he asked.

Jasper flashed him a grin. "Bella, since Liam is your mate, he is part of the family." Pleasure and a strange sense of pride suffused her body. "So, I'll just answer you in front of him. Don't worry, sugar. I'll behave. Okay?"

Liam chuckled a little. "Have some faith in me, too, muirnín."

Another wafting of comfort reached Bella and she felt herself relaxing as she rose to her feet and let Liam do the same. Jasper and Alice did as well. Jasper met her eyes directly, his own forthright. "You know I need to talk to him." She nodded, biting her lip. "All right. I know how it feels, at first, so I won't keep him long. But I also know y'all are gonna want to high-tail it out of here soon enough."

She felt a muted pain carve into her - delicately, with a sense of rightness, but it still hurt. And, though she was happy and still amazed to have met Liam, Bella felt the anguish over losing her close bond with Alice and Jasper.

Alice cupped her face with a careful hand. "Bella. It's all right. This is how it's supposed to be."

Liam held her tightly against him even as Jasper repeated Alice's reassurance, his own touch firm but tender. "We knew it was coming, remember?"

Eyes burning, Bella could only nod.

Jasper shifted gears visibly and cocked a brow at Liam. "Let's take a walk."

Liam turned her in his arms and cupped her face in his hands. He must have seen something of her unease, for he offered her a small smile, and there was a light in his eyes that welcomed a challenge. "Don't you worry, now. I'll bring him back in one piece."

As they stepped to the door, Bella dropped her shield entirely so that Jasper could feel the full range of her emotions. Her love for him, her bonded-feeling to Liam, the anticipation, apprehension and curiosity that flew through her awareness. In mid-stride, Jasper turned, a gentle light in his bright gold eyes. "He will, you know," he said, projecting his own rich emotions toward her.

Relieved somewhat, Bella held entirely still, focused on Liam's scent as the men left the house. Once he was out of sight, by virtue of the door closing, she steeled herself against the acute and real pain of separation. Each limb on her body seemed to throb with the need to follow her mate.

_My mate!_

Again, she was reminded of Edward. _He resisted this. For how many days? Six full days, including the day we left England. How did he _do_ that? _

"Bella!"

Shaken from her reverie, Bella felt slender arms wrap her up and lift her off the floor before setting her back down again. "Hey!"

Alice was vibrating, even her hair seeming to have a life of its own. "Oh, Bella. It's him. It's him. I am so happy for you. He's – wow." Her eyes shone with delight. "I've seen so many things for you! Oh, I love you so much and want you to be so happy. There is so much that isn't clear, but what always _is_ clear, is that you're smiling and you're with him and he's going to be so good to you. So good, Bell." With a laugh, the Sprite caught her hands and whirled her around the floor.

Unable to stifle her own ecstatic laughter, Bella joined Alice in the impromptu celebration. Limbs entwined, they danced a little and held one another and finally slowed down so that they were standing in front of the fireplace. It was cold and clean, but its adobe-ochre color was soothing to her vampire's eyes. "Alice," she whispered, embracing her partner and friend and staunchest companion. Suddenly, sorrow settled heavily on her and she buried her nose in Alice's hair. She breathed Alice's fragrance in, the nutmeg precious to her. "What am I going to do?"

She meant the question rhetorically, but Alice kissed her neck with soft affection and answered, "You're going to come upstairs with me and choose a bedroom first off. And then –"

"Wait. Alice." Her mind seemed to rip apart for just a moment and she could see two distinct scenarios. Feel two entirely encompassing feelings. _Yes_ to the new bedroom and _yes_ to consummating her mate-bond with Liam and _yes_ to being all that it would mean to be his mate. Yes! Joyful anticipation! And, simultaneously, she was silently crying out in _negation_. _No_ to a bed that wasn't the one she had shared with Jasper and Alice for so long. _No_ to the feelings she knew her separation would engender in them all. No! Despair!

"What am I going to do?" she asked again.

Alice smoothed her hands up Bella's body to bracket her face. "You'll be with your mate, sweetie. Like I am with mine. And, maybe, if he can jump on the animal-only bandwagon, maybe we can expand the Whitlock Coven." Her smile was wistful. "I'll miss you, Bella. But this is what is right for you. You'll never have to wonder again if you'll have a mate, because you do. And it didn't take centuries. And we were all together for so long, longer than a lot of humans ever get."

Their bracelets clinked softly. Both stared at them, a realization hitting them simultaneously. "We're not three, anymore," Bella said on a breath. With one finger, she traced the gold she had privately assigned to herself – the rosy shade. Her eyes met Alice's and she felt such a horrible pressure; she wanted to cry. "I should take it off...but...I –"

"Hush, sweetie. When you're ready. It's always yours and we're yours, too, okay?"

Kissing Alice's forehead, Bella sighed and allowed herself to be comforted. "Thank you, Alice." She straightened up a little. "They'll be back pretty soon, won't they? Jasper's not going to go all Bad Ass Warrior on him, is he?"

Alice giggled and wiggled her brows playfully. "Oh, maybe a little. But really, Bella, it'll be okay. Liam won't take any crap from our Jasper. C'mon. Let's go see where you'll make this official."

"Alice!"

"We've only got two guest rooms, but they both have king-sized beds."

"Alice!" She _needed_ Liam. Every minute. But she knew that there was no way on earth Jasper could do anything other than what he was no doubt doing. And she loved Jasper. She trusted him with everything in her. So she resolved to focus just on one thing at a time until Liam returned to her.

And right now, that one thing was whether she wanted to have the room with the sliding door to the back patio or the upstairs room on the corner with the circular shower.

"Help a sister out?" she begged her friend.

"I've seen both rooms and, either way, you have to order a new bed tomorrow."

Laughing, Bella made a choice and the two females proceeded to change sheets and hang up towels and stock the chosen bathroom with Bella's favorites.

Every sixty seconds, Bella paused at a window, wondering when her mate would be back.

* * *

><p>Warrior Whitlock was an empath, so Liam dug inside himself for his own covering so that he could be as protected as possible. He felt vulnerable, out here with the man his mate – <em>his mate!<em> – had lived with as a lover for forty-odd years. Jealousy fought reason within him as he and Whitlock ran through the sands, following the scent that Liam recognized as the one he and Bella made when they were together. A combined aroma of light floral and his own mint and ginger. It made him want to turn around, dash back to the house, pick her up and take her wild and free on that rock they'd occupied earlier.

"Maguire?" Whitlock had stopped, past the boulder Liam had been thinking about, and was turned to face him. "Are you a shield, too? Like Bella?" Confusion was in every angle of the warrior's face. Starlight was illumination enough in the clear, dry sky. "That's the craziest thing I've ever heard of."

Liam kept his distance. He didn't want to offend the other fella – far from it. Jasper Whitlock was a man important to his muirnín and Liam would not offend him for her sake. But. "I can cover m'self, Whitlock, if that's what you're meaning."

The blond man ran his hands through his windblown hair. "All right, then. Look. I wanted to know a couple of things."

Liam did not relax. "I thought ya might. Me, too." At Whitlock's quick grin, he did let his muscles ease a bit. The leader of Bella's coven would not want to hurt her, either, he realized. He loved her. This had been all too clear, earlier. "She told me about your...arrangement. And how things were before that, too. I have to say, though I haven't to her yet, that if I had known? That my mate was out here and hurtin' like she was? I would've uncovered m'self a lot sooner so that your seer, maybe, coulda found me and I'd've damned the consequences."

That brought Whitlock to attention so fast that Liam crouched in a defensive posture instinctively. The warrior took one long stride closer to Liam. "What _consequences_?"

Holding up one hand, Liam said, "He's ash, now, so you can relax, there."

"Tell me."

"I haven't even told her, yet." The strain of all those decades of hiding, the loneliness of it, the tension-as-companion aspect of his existence – all of it was a part of him that he would have to share with Isabella at some point, but he didn't want to get into it with a male he saw as a quasi-rival. "It's over. I can tell you that."

The leader's hand came out, palm flat as his stance stiffened again. Liam braced himself, but nothing happened and he realized that Whitlock was trying to do something with his emotions. Wisely, Liam kept his tongue in his head. As scarred up as the blond male was, he was a warrior of vast experience. Liam didn't feel the need to add any scars to his _own_ skin.

Swearing, the other man dropped his hand. "Damn. Forgot you could do that. All right." Whitlock grimaced. "So. I know you haven't had a lot of time, but have you given a thought as to what you and Bella will do?"

"I haven't the foggiest." Liam laughed a little into the night, hearing small creatures rustle the sagebrush a few yards off to his left. "Honest? I'm wondering about the whole golden-eye situation, there," he went on with a jerk of his head in Whitlock's direction. "I'd met Carlisle, as you know, so I know how the lot of you got the gold, but I –" He paused, not having let his thoughts go down this path yet. "I've never had the least desire to drain a deer or anything. By the looks of you, you haven't always had golden eyes, either."

Whitlock shook his head. "No, I haven't. But it's been more than a hundred years since I committed myself to trying, anyway. It ain't always been easy, mind," he said, his vocal pattern slipping into more of what Liam thought was "Southern," here in the States. "But it's worth it."

"Why?" It wasn't something he had challenged his mate about, but Liam did want to know. "They're our prey."

"They're human. I hated feeling how they felt when I killed 'em," Whitlock confessed, his honesty clear on his face. "My mate – Mary Alice – showed me how to hunt animals. It's been easier on me." Liam had nothing to say to that – worrying about a meal's _feelings_ had never really entered into his immortality. "Bella's never fed from humans."

"I know. Her ex-husband told me."

The flare of the other man's nostrils was his only indicator of displeasure. "Edward. He never goes away."

"He's not my favorite fella, either. So. In answer to your question, Jasper Whitlock, I've got no settled home, not really. I've been living in Ireland, and in County Cavan now, for a while. With a pair of mated females." At the significant look from the other man, Liam had to laugh. And laugh. The tension that he had been carrying for this whole conversation seemed to spill out in his amusement. "No, not like that." He explained briefly about Maggie and Siobhan before returning to the business at hand. "Isabella's home has been with you. I don't want her to be uprooted. I understand you work together and you have for a long time, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"All right, then. I will tell you, man to man, that I want her to m'self for a while, of course. I – I want to get to know her." It wasn't just the pull he felt to get back to her at that particular moment, either. Once the survival-tension had dissipated, the bone-deep need for his mate was there, pushing invisibly at him. Tugging at him. Moving within his body. "I want her to be happy. We'll just have to figure out what that means for us, I guess."

"We'll do our best, Alice and I, to make it easier. Look, Maguire. I know this might not be the easiest coven to join, but I'd like you to think about it, all right? Bella and Alice were friends and family long before we moved in together. When Bella was a human, she and Alice were friends. Bella is quite extraordinary, able to accept and love beyond boundaries a lot of others see as – insurmountable. And Alice – well, she sees things and people and it'd break her heart to only see Bella from a distance for eternity."

The sincerity was clear to Liam and he nodded. "I'll think about it, of course. Like I said, I want her happy." _By the saints, I just _want_ her._ "Ready to head back?" _C'mon, don't drag this out, warrior_...

Whitlock laughed and Liam realized that when his tension had been eased, he had also uncovered himself in his own way; the empath undoubtedly had every idea as to _every_ level of Liam's desire to return.

_Well, let 'im. I'm that tired of wearin' that thing over me. _

"Let's go," Jasper Whitlock said.

He knew the way this time, and the men made a race out of it. Granted, Liam was more than happy to throw sand at Whitlock's face on the way back – he'd take what advantage he could get to win even such a ridiculous competition – but then the empath made him laugh hysterically and he lost his footing for a second.

They tumbled right through the immaculate doors of the adobe home, shattering glass everywhere.

Liam didn't care. His mate was there, right in front of him, with a look of awed incredulity on her beautiful face. Without an apology or barely even a look at the destruction of the glass doors, Liam swept his muirnín into his arms.

"Come with me," he whispered to her.

She shook her head, her lips open and brushing his jaw as she did so.

The fae-missie spoke. "Jas? I think we should –"

"Yeah," the warrior drawled.

Glass crunched and then there was only silence.

"Come with _me_," Bella whispered, her eyelids heavy in a way he already understood. "We have a room of our own, for tonight."

Within the room, there was no lingering scent of Whitlock, so Liam understood that this truly was not a room she had shared with the other male and his latent jealousy drifted down. His own need was heavy, his arousal insistent as Bella tugged him through a wood-lined arch.

"Bella... My _mate_... I – I need you." He couldn't get enough of her; the hair on his body rose to meet her, his skin ached for her.

"Liam... I'm yours."

* * *

><p>AN: Oh, did I do it to you AGAIN?

Yes, I do have a sneak peek into next week if you want to venture forth that way. Let me know, because I won't spoil you without your express written consent! :) **Katmom** will have a campfire to discuss the story at w ww. adifferentforest. com if you want to drop by. :) Thanks for reading!


	7. They Shared the Love Together

A/N: Welcome back! I know, I was evil last week but I will put you out of your misery _immediately_.

My great thanks to my great friend **Katmom** for starting up discussion campfires at A Different Forest! She's the bee's knees!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seven: They Shared the Love Together<strong>

"You've got sand in your hair," Bella protested.

That her remark was made against the wall of the room she had brought him to – and after he had torn off all of his clothes as well as her own so that her naked thighs were around his waist – lessened his desire for her not at all. "This room has a shower, yeah?"

"Oh, yeah..." With a jerk of her head, she pointed him through a swinging door to a tiled room. "Over there."

He grinned into her eyes, letting his hands grip her arse to squeeze just a little. He felt the top muscles of her thighs tighten. "Bella...I don't know if I can wait ta get th'sand from my hair." Nudging the glazed glass door of the circular shower, he paid the surroundings very little attention, beyond seeing that the turquoise and slate colors were soothing to his eye.

"Then let me get the water on," Bella whispered, arching back so that her breasts claimed his entire attention while she turned something and water came from overhead to splash on her skin.

"By the saints," he breathed, bracing the arc of her back with one hand. His whole being was feeling drawn in by her. "I _need_ you. I know it's ridiculous soon, but –"

Her limbs were around him, her lips at his throat. "I know. I know, but we're mates and – and this is how it is. Jasper told me I'd know and I do and –"

"Hush," he suggested, kissing her as the overhead shower rained down on them, slicking their stony skin. "Me, too." He didn't even know how to start. "Damn," he muttered, feeling like an _eejit_. _Inside, inside_, his libido was demanding. _Be good to her_, his head insisted. He should – "I have to ask," he gasped between devouring her mouth and turning them both around to brace her against a turquoise-accented wall, "What... How... Damn it all, woman, y've stolen my words." In spite of his urgent need of her, he had to chuckle. He was hard, aligned against her body, unable to stop the rhythmic thrusting as he sought friction. "Muirnín..." he sighed into the slope of her shoulder.

Her hands pressed into him, her body rolled against his. "I know. Same here," she whispered, the words seeming to caress him as they left her lips. He doubted her veracity, because _she_ was actually _coherent_.

He lifted her up the wall and leaned to take the tip of one breast into his mouth, making _her_ moan and _him_ just wish his body would give over, already, and let him get to know what pleased his mate, but that wasn't apparently on the schedule. Bella whined, then, and the next thing he knew –

She slid right onto him, all but transfixing herself in one fierce drive. "Liam!" she shouted, his name echoing brightly in the circular shower, dancing with the water and coming back to him. "Liam!" she called again.

Every word he had ever had left him. All there was was Isabella, all of who she was – all of her that the saints had given to him – was filling him up inside even as his body filled hers. The subtle heat of their kind gripped him, her form fitting his own to perfection. He rocked against her, catching her just so, so that she began to tighten up everywhere, all around him, his name coming out in ever-louder pants and cries.

In the end, both their voices wove with the water, their pleasure as pervasive as the droplets in the air around them. Amazed, dazed and profoundly moved, Liam clasped her close to his body and turned to slide down the wall, still intimately embraced.

"You're my mate," he murmured into her thick, wet hair. "And I'm yours."

"Yes..."

"I don't even know where to start."

She tilted her head back and smiled at him. "Oh, I think you did fine."

* * *

><p>"I feel like it's quiet," Alice murmured into Jasper's shoulder. She stretched out against Jasper's body and ran her fingers along the scarred ridges of his skin. She felt his answering wistfulness humming into her body. "Too quiet."<p>

"Mary Alice," her mate drawled, "we said we would support her and send her off with a smile, didn't we?"

"I _did_ smile," Alice retorted, nuzzling his ribs. "But – I miss her already...and I can't see when they'll be back."

Jasper rolled her up so that she lay atop him. "Sweetheart, I do, too." Watching their Bella drive away in her small, solar-powered car – a wonder that Rosalie and Emmett had designed five years prior – had ripped his unbeating heart out of his chest. He clutched convulsively at his mate, whose pain was consuming, and they had found themselves huddled on the floor.

Their combined suffering was a physical thing, for them. At length, however, Jasper tilted Alice's face to his own, seeing her love for him, feeling their bond – still strong, still the most dominant relationship in his existence – and it was as if they gave their hearts back solely into each other's keeping. It was a healing moment in a long line of healing moments in their life together. When their bracelets touched, with the small metallic sound he had cherished for decades, he held his breath. Alice kissed his fingers and nodded.

"I told her we'd always be hers but I don't know what she's going to do about...this."

"All right. I love you."

In their bed – though it felt too big, both of them decided that leaving it empty because Bella wasn't with them was counterproductive – they loved each other. Sweetly, patiently. Even for immortals with infallible memory, it felt odd to have only two of them after being three for so long.

"I still love us _three_," Alice said on a sigh.

"So do I. But be happy for her, sweetheart."

"I am. I am. I'll only pout today, I promise."

His chuckle was good to hear. For both of them. A thought occurred to her and she propped her chin in her hand. "Do you think we should call Carlisle and let him know?"

Jasper was not fooled for a moment. "You mean, call _Edward_." The pulsation of guilt that ghosted from her was enough confirmation. "Part of me wants to, hon. But honest? Part of me wants to let him stew as long as possible." With both arms, he pressed her against himself. "I'd like nothin' more than to see him floored by Maguire. Liam," he amended with a look from his wife. "Because he is nothin' like Edward was expecting."

* * *

><p>"Where are we going?"<p>

Bella smiled over at her mate. Mate! That was still making her shiver under her skin. "The Cliff Dwellings." Recent changes in local laws and customs – as well as economic need – had necessitated additional public access to traditional Native American lands. "There's good hiking and a hot springs, there."

"Sunlight?" Liam queried with a lift of his brow. She loved the way his red-blond brows bunched together to accent his emotions.

"It's not going to be overly populated at this time of year – too hot. The desert is busiest in the winter."

"Hm."

"What?" she wondered, letting her hand trace his arm while she drove.

He covered her hand with his own. "I have to hunt, Bella."

And just like that, the honeymoon-feeling of the drive came to an abrupt end. She should have asked Alice how she had managed with Jasper, the guilt that came from coping with one's mate killing people... "So do I," was all she said.

The silence was far too tense for two newly-mated vampires, she reflected – not without some humor. Years of living and loving in the Whitlock Coven had gifted her with a good sense of perspective in the realms of emotion and of fate. The tension between her and Liam should be entirely of the physical nature, this early in their bonding. That's what she had learned from Jasper, anyway. But now, there was a wall between her and her mate. A wall comprised of blood.

Animal. Human. _Prey_.

"They're our natural prey, I get that," she said, deciding that she could be the one to break through that wall. "But I – I can't hunt them, Liam."

His fingers remained twined with hers. "I know. You never have, right? That's, er, what I was told."

"Who?"

His mobile features contorted in a way that conveyed distaste and embarrassment. "Your, er, ex. Edward?"

A strong rip of angry irritation raced through her, followed by a ragged inevitability. "Of course. Well, he's right. I haven't." Pulling into a parking spot at a small, new Bed and Breakfast, she checked to make sure that she had her hat and a pair of gloves.

Liam gazed at her with a sparkle in his dark eyes. "Gloves? Won't that look suspicious?"

"Out here? No. A lot of humans worry about skin cancer and cover up every inch of skin anyway. I'll just look paranoid."

Laughing, he conceded. "Then, what about me?"

Biting her lip, she perused him visually. "You are..." With a sigh, she leaned into him to kiss him. "Perfect. Just put your hands out of sight while we're in the sunlight."

He exited the car and came around to the driver's side for her. Decades of living with Jasper had taught her that some men enjoyed being a gentleman. Edward had practically insisted upon it, Jasper had nurtured her into enjoying it, and Liam just came for her. He took her hand as she got out of the car and she had to ask.

"What year were you born?"

"Nineteen twenty-seven." He tugged at the baseball cap he wore, his smile flashing white. His eyes, though, seemed to grow even darker and she felt her insides hurt a little.

Why was her mate a human-drinker? Did she have the right to ask him to hunt animals? She remembered the long-ago conversation with Edward when he told her he was mated to Bronwyn – another human drinker. Bella recollected that she had taken for granted that Edward's mate would make the switch.

She was not so complacent with Liam. She knew him – not well, but better than Edward had known Bronwyn – and she didn't think he'd just "switch" on her account. But she was the oddity, between them. She was the one who sought an alternative lifestyle. Did she have the right to insist he join her?

He hadn't once said he hoped she would start draining _people_.

Together, they walked in through the shaded door into the pueblo-themed establishment. Shade kept the ambient temperature indoors cool and comfortable for humans; it kept the sun from their skin, as well. She slid her gloves from her hands and went through the formalities, wondering all the while if the beating hearts she could hear knew a predator was in their midst.

Once they were in their room – decorated with reproduced Mogollan rock drawings of ceremonial dancers and shamans, with the linens in shades of slate and sand – Liam cupped her face in his hands. "Muirnín, you're thirsty."

"So are you," she countered. Then, she took a chance. "Want to watch me hunt?" Hunting was always a prelude to sex... He might find it appealing, and she wanted him – wanted him after a hunt. Wanted to have that kind of feral sharing with him. Wanted...wanted...

That his eyes darkened still further as she looked into them was a testimony to his mutual wish to engage in that particular post-hunt ritual. His nod was a brief prelude to a searing kiss that she felt in every cell of her body. "Hunt. I have to hunt," she panted against his stubbled jaw. That he would always and forever be stubbled was sexy, to her.

"In the sunlight?"

"True."

"I've no sand in my hair," he whispered against her ear as he slid eager fingers under her top.

"Good."

* * *

><p>Her hunt had ranged north from their accommodations, under the bright pinpricks of stars in the desert night. She had found elk in the Gila, and had brought them down as efficiently as possible. Her mate was watching. She could feel his focus upon her. When she had finished, ripping apart the drained carcasses and scattering the meat for the local carrion eaters, Liam had stalked her, every inch the predator.<p>

But it wasn't her venom he wanted...

They were back to the B&B before dawn, where they showered all the sand from their bodies. His thirst was more pressing, but he, too, waited until dark before leaving for his "hunt."

"Come with me?" he asked, holding his hand out to her.

She hesitated, his expression fell from worried hope to dejection. "Liam, wait," she pushed out. "I – I'll come." She didn't think she could be apart from him for an undefined period of time. It had been so hard when he had left with Jasper. Since their bond was consummated, she didn't know if it would be any easier, but she didn't want to risk it. "I will. Let me change."

"You know I won't ask you to, well, to join me, Bella," he assured her, his voice gentle. "Where's the nearest big city? I don't want to be conspicuous."

The notion gave her pause, but only for an instant. "Las Cruces, maybe? We can get there, no problem." She determinedly did not look at him while she changed into dark jeans and a black blouse – hunting clothes, more or less. "How, um, how do you do this?"

Liam shrugged as they went to the car; he slid into the passenger seat and she took the wheel. "Your country, your roads," he had said when they had left her home in the north. To answer her question, he settled more deeply into the bucket seat of the car. "Well, it's not that much different than you, y'know? I find a likely one and direct him away from the herd."

She winced. "Oh. Where do you go?"

"Well, that depends. In Ireland, I often hang out near the pubs, yeah? I look for a one who is alone and get them separated from whatever group they're surrounded by. Take them outside or wait in an alley or car park. And then, I drink. And I try to make sure the body is either unrecognizable or unfindable, later."

Feeling increasingly uneasy, Bella reminded herself that he'd been feeding this way for a very long time. "I – I think I should just, maybe, wait somewhere? Close?"

He took her hand in his as she drove through the early darkness. Las Cruces was east of where they were staying, so the sky behind them was a vision of pinks and purples, while ahead it was the deepening navy-indigo of night. She tried so hard to control her facial expressions, wishing briefly that her shield could shield her mate from her violent dislike of his chosen diet.

But really, was it his _choice_? Who had taught him anything else?

They reached a likely downtown area, with plenty of signs of nightlife. She could hear music over the persistent thrum of heartbeats. Conversations equally in English and Spanish punctuated the illuminated streets. Dry night breezes blew small pieces of paper as well as wavelets of sand across pavement. Wearing his own brand of "hunting clothes" – black jeans and a black shirt with a pair of nondescript loafers – Liam held her tightly to him around the corner from the bar. "I won't be long, muirnín. I promise."

How could she take reassurance from his promise that a living, breathing human being would be dead before long? Still, Bella relished the feeling of his strong hands encompassing her arms, his lips on hers, and she nodded. "Be safe."

He flashed her a smile. "You, too. And if any amadán gives ya any trouble, you take him the hell apart, yeah?"

She watched him walk away from her, remembering that he was only doing what their kind had been doing for millennia. He slid through the door into the bar and she couldn't see him or hear him or anything, anymore.

And it was lonely. Almost, she called Alice. But she refrained, not wanting to cause her any pain. And if she and Jasper were having some reconnection time –

"Without me," she whispered into the arid dark. They were together without her. It was right that they should be, but here, alone on a street corner, she could imagine Jasper and Alice and what they'd be doing and what they'd sound and smell and taste like and...

She dragged her mind back to Liam and how _he_ sounded and smelled and tasted and her lips curved in a smile. Her mate...now, if they were in the same house with Alice and Jasper after a hunt –

Spiraling desire curled in her body as she smiled into the sky. A human male smiled back at her, but she looked through and beyond him – an easy enough deterrent in most cases – and he moved along.

She turned her head back to the entrance of the bar and smelled the difference in the air when the door opened and a human male came out, positively reeking of cheap beer.

"Yeah, my dealer's right around the corner, there," Liam was saying to the intoxicated man. "He's got good stuff."

"Great. Can't wait t'try it, maaaann..." the human slurred, wobbling a bit and bumping into Liam's arm. "Hey, is that her? She's fiiiine."

"Nah, he's around the corner though, C'mon."

Bella clenched her jaw shut, thinking of all the things she could say but would not say, here. Liam was culling the herd; she understood that. But she could not approve. She didn't even think she could watch. It was her choice to do so or not.

He had watched her, but she wasn't taking the life of a sentient human being when she hunted, either.

"Hey, where'd he go?" Liam wondered, his voice very sincere. "Man, I'm sorry, I thought he was goin' ta wait for me." The Irish accent only made him sound more believable.

"S'okay – Hey, it's cool, I'm all –" and then a gasp, a hiss of air and a muffled cry.

Try as she might, Bella could not look away. She saw Liam cover the man's mouth with one hand and bite into his throat while punching his spine – cracking the fragile human bones with the other. It was similar to how she immobilized the elk the night before...

The few pedestrians that strode by while Liam was occupied were more interested in her than in a "possible mugging" happening down the walk. Bella ignored them and they moved along.

The cessation of a heartbeat and too-solid thud of a body hitting the cement told her Liam had finished. She could see his eyes gleam crimson in the shadowed darkness. He left the body behind and strode quickly to her. "Muirnín, oh, damnation," he rasped, seeming hesitant to touch her, to even take her hand. She couldn't say anything – didn't want to condemn him by her words for an action he was instinctively prone to make. But neither could she find a smile for him. Not anywhere. "Bella, please, sweetheart. Say something."

"What?"

He pulled at his hair, his face working. "I don't know, something? I – I can't stand for this to come between us, Isabella," he said after a moment. A tentative hand moved to clasp one of hers. And though she was repulsed as to what that hand had done not minutes before, she couldn't deny her need of his touch. "I guess, you know, I've never really given them any thought, as anything other than prey," he stuttered out, his words choppy in his obvious discomfiture. "Until now. And I see you, and I think that –"

So involved had they been with trying to bridge the gap between them that they didn't notice when two vampires flashed from across the street to stand just out of arm's reach.

"_Buenas noches. Yo soy Maria de la Sangre, y él es mi teniente, Pablo. Este es _mi_ territorio_."

_Maria. Maria. _The name flew through Bella's mind and she threw her shield around herself and her mate immediately. _Jasper's Maria? Maybe... _

Bella drew in a long breath. They were in serious trouble.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Yes, it's THAT Maria.

Oh! You know I love to spoil you! Please remember, though, that I **can't** _unless you are signed in_ and have allowed me to respond to you. :) So if you want a peek at chapter eight...it's waiting for you!


	8. The Changes That Have Come Over Me

**A/N**: Wow! There was quite a variance in opinion regarding Bella's response to Liam's hunt! That isn't over, yet.

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I love the PMs and being able to interact with you. Thanks, too, to **Katmom** for lighting campfires at A Different Forest for discussions. It's so entertaining!

We left Liam and Bella in the company of Jasper's Maria...

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><p><strong>Chapter Eight: The Changes That Have Come Over Me<strong>

"Translate," Liam said, wanting to push his mate, his muirnín, behind him but not doing so because then she'd have no way to move to safety should the situation warrant it.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the petite Latina said, her voice saccharine in its apology. "I am Maria de la Sangre and he is my lieutenant, Pablo. You, _amigos_, have hunted in my territory."

"_Cac*!_" Liam swore. He had to protect his mate! "No, she didn't. Look at her eyes. See? They're golden. She's –"

"Shh!" Bella said, her fingers curling around his painfully before letting go. "We didn't know this was your territory."

"I fought hard for it," Maria said, standing as if for combat. "And I will continue to do so!"

In an explosion of movement, she proved it to be true. Her lieutenant, with a flick of Maria de la Sangre's wrist, went straight for Bella, hands poised to grab her shoulders as if to go for the quick beheading.

"Bella!"

Liam couldn't say more, because Maria did a sudden leap and kicked him in the chest so that he bounced off the stucco wall of the bar. The vampire mind was a frustrating thing, he decided as he grabbed Maria's leg even while he flew backward. He rammed his elbow down from above like a sledgehammer, hitting her in the knee joint so that it popped sideways. She swore colorfully – he was sure it was colorfully even if he didn't understand a word – and crunched to the pavement, cracking the dirty, sand-dusted alley with her elbow. He could process what he had to do to disable the black-haired whirlwind as quickly as possible, while hearing Bella's growl and watching her hair spin around her and hearing Pablo hiss.

Everything in Liam wanted to go to Bella's aid, to rip her assailant off of her and set him on fire. Slowly. But he couldn't! He had to see to his own head or he'd be of no use to her. While Maria was on the ground, Liam leapt lightly over her, catching up her long dark braid so that she couldn't slide away.

"Aiii!" She twisted her body, teeth practically projecting from her mouth, to reach his leg. He kicked her while holding her hair and heard a distinctive crack. She took a moment to recover and that was all he needed.

Falling on her, Liam pulled her head to one side and bit into her neck, pulling for all he was worth. She tasted like any other vampire, he supposed, but it wasn't a taste he wished to try again. The sound she made as he tore off her head was hideous and he hoped to all the saints that there weren't any sober humans in the area.

Once he had beheaded Maria, he ripped off her limbs and, with a few quick kicks, separated them while keeping his grip on her braid. He would have thrown it away, but not so close to so many humans.

Finally, with the combat-focus being softened in his mind, he was able to assist his mate. A strange sort of concentration was on her face, but she was clearly winning since he was missing one arm already. His quick eye saw no serious scarring – but the bastard in front of her would pay for the bite mark he saw on her wrist.

Growling, he braced himself to lunge when Bella leapt up straight into the air and then landed on the other vampire's back, cracking his head with her elbow. He heard that distinctive stone-splintering sound a vampire's skull makes when it's cracked as the other fella's head hit the ground a second time.

Still holding Maria's head, pride for Bella in every nuance of his words, he asked, "Want me to hold him so you can take his head?"

Her quick nod had them changing places so that he pinned down Pablo and Bella bit and ripped and tore to behead the enemy.

He met Bella's eyes, no longer seeing the depth of the pain he had seen earlier, after he had drained his meal – a sight that had twisted his insides in way he had never imagined – but seeing ferocity and concern.

She reached for him with one hand, cupping his jaw and smoothing her thumb over his cheek. "You okay?"

"Yeah." He flickered his attention to her wounded wrist. "Wish I could put his head back on and take it apart, just for that."

She smiled, surprising him. "I took too long to 'assess the situation,'" she confessed. "That was stupid." She eyed the head in his hand, watching Maria's face contort in fury. "Where do we burn them?"

"Hell if I know. Not my town. Why the hell didn't you let me point out your eyes? She wouldn've known you weren't going to interfere in her hunting."

"If that was Jasper's Maria - she might have known he was here. He'd never want that."

"Bella!"

Her smile was apologetic, but also proud. "We don't have to worry about her anymore. _You_ took her out." They looked at the powerless head that Liam still held by its braid. Fury and fear moved the bodiless features.

He then remembered the body of his prey and actually winced, hesitant to bring it up. "I, uh, have to dispose of, er..."

She grimaced. "I know. All right. I don't have a match, Liam."

"He does," he said with a jerk of his head to the dead human. "And there's a skip over there –"

"A what?"

"Where the pub throws away its waste? A wheelie? You know. A big bin?"

"Oh, a dumpster. Okay."

Weird, nearly soundless aspirating noises came from the head she held and Liam re-focused on the job at hand. "Let's do this."

Before long, the smell of dead human was overtaken by the strange, purple incense-scent of burning vampire. And though he knew he and Bella had to figure out what to do about the hunting issue, he was relieved enough that she needed to hold him as much as he needed her in his arms while they burned their attackers.

"Jasper might be happy to hear about this," Bella murmured as the smoke finally wafted away.

"Oh, yeah?"

"It's a long story. He'll probably tell you, though," she added, nuzzling his throat in the darkness, "since you're practically family..."

They hurried back to the bed and breakfast establishment and, after washing the debris of the evening from their bodies, Liam insisted upon examining every centimeter of her skin. "Just to make sure you aren't hurt," he said guilelessly.

She insisted on the same privilege, adding, "I was so worried, Liam. I've heard the most terrifying stories about Maria. If that was really Jasper's Maria, then –" Naked and wet, braced in the shower, she trembled.

He was overcome with the need to care for her, to keep her safe though she could clearly keep herself safe right enough. Warmth seemed to take over his innards, filling him with relief and need and –

"Bella, I don't know what I would've done if he'd –" He couldn't say it. Didn't want to imagine it.

She trembled again. "Me, either. Hold me..."

He did.

* * *

><p>They hid in their rooms for three full days, not coming out or leaving one another's arms for the entire time. Both having hunted recently, Liam wasn't suffering and, by the bright gold of Bella's eyes, he judged she wasn't, either. His own calmed after a full day, resting at a burgundy color that would gradually grow black as the burn in his throat and the pull at his guts increased.<p>

She called her coven. They were naked in bed, and he decided to tease her while she talked to the warrior and the fae-missie.

"Alice, hi! Thought I should let you know we're good and safe and all that. I do have an adventure to share but it'll keep 'til we get back."

"Bella! Tell me!"

"Nope. Soon, thoo-ooohh-ough..." That last vowel sound was drawn out on a moan as Liam pulled her breast into his mouth, sucking gently. She gave him a heated evil-eye but he didn't stop.

He heard Alice giggle. "Um, okay! So, Edward called."

At that, Liam did pause, propping himself on his elbows and checking to make sure his muirnín was all right.

She was. With a sweet smile, she answered, "How's he doing?"

"Crowing. He said he'd spoken to Liam already."

"Good. Maybe now he and Bronwyn will run off to New Zealand and leave us alone?"

"I've always wanted to go to New Zealand," Liam murmured, dipping his head to taste her lower abdominal area, moving south. "I'll take 'im apart for you."

"Liam! I like you! But Edward's my favorite brother!" Alice called through the phone.

"He can still be your favorite. He'll just need to be reassembled."

"Don't tempt me," Whitlock inserted.

All four of them chuckled and the conversation was, essentially, over.

But there were others.

To Bella's mind, the most significant conversation occurred their last night away. They had immersed themselves in one another after the attack, but after a few days, they were talking a bit more and making love a bit less and, that last night, her mate sat on the edge of the bed and held her on his lap.

"We haven't talked about it, have we." It was a statement more than anything and Bella could only sigh and shake her head. "Isabella, I don't want us to return to your – to them – divided."

She lifted her head from his shoulder, rubbing her hand along the soft white shirt he wore. That he was even dressed meant he was wanting to talk – much of the last few days had been spent entirely _au naturel_. All her years of living with Jas and Alice had given Bella more confidence with her body, and it was infinitely more convenient to go that way. "Me, either."

He nodded and ran his nose along her hairline, his lips barely touching her skin. Still, she felt it and shivered. "Bella. I know this is fast and not what I expected at all, at all, but I love you. I mean, we've got the whole mate thing, and I get that, but it's not just that, muirnín, you know?"

She stared at him, feeling that her lips had parted in surprise. "Liam..." She didn't know what to say; the days since they had met had flown but what about Jasper and Alice? She still loved them, didn't she?

Jasper had told her and Alice that what they had was special, that sometimes, hearts could hold more than one other person, more than a mate. Not everyone's, but sometimes, it happened. She certainly felt more strongly for Liam, more connected to him, than she did to Jasper and Alice - which felt odd. She loved them, so much, but she _needed_ Liam.

She had never understood that before, and could only be grateful that they loved her despite feeling the immutable pull of the mate-bond for each other.

"I think I love you, too," she said after an endless moment.

He quirked a small smile at her, his eyes dark with emotion but dancing. "You think?" His laugh was slightly incredulous. "Well, thanks a lot there, muirnín. Ya _think_."

She understood his humor, but she felt the need to explain herself. "It's different, with you. You know that. You know what we have isn't anything I've experienced before."

"I know it, I do. Same goes, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"So I guess there's _two_ things," he said after a minute.

She shifted, bringing herself around to straddle him so she could look him directly in the eye. "I really don't want to tell you...what to...where to hunt, Liam. I don't."

"But what about where to live, eh?" He wiggled his brows at her and she nodded slowly. "I know, Bella, that you've been with them for a long time. I don't mean to take you away from them, all right?" He seemed hesitant, though, and she snuggled herself more firmly against him, silently encouraging him to continue. "But I don't know...I mean..." Clearly flustered, he finally inhaled sharply and stated, "I don't know how I feel about you _bein'_ with them."

Surprised, she blinked. "You mean, before I met you?"

He chuckled a little and dropped his eyes for a second. "Er, no. That – honest, sweetheart, even before I knew you, and we were talkin' in the airport in Heathrow? I caught this _two females, one male _vibe from th'three o'ya and, well, yeah." He bucked up into her in demonstration.

She appreciated feeling that from him and ground her own hips down onto him for a moment, teasing. "Well, that's something," she murmured.

"But now...? I don't know, Isabella."

He was still hard against her and she wiggled a little. "Well, you don't _feel_ like you think it's a bad thing."

Seriously, he stilled her playful seduction and eyed the gold she still wore on her wrist. "I don't think I can share ya." His look was not apologetic or mischievous in the least. It was naked in its sincerity. "I mean, yeah, a man has his fantasies, but – mine don't ever involve another _man_, y'know?"

Bella frowned a little in thought. "I understand and I do sympathize, honest," she said. "Imagining you with another woman right now?" Pain swept over her – light, but real. She shook her head. "I get it. I'm sure they'll get it, too. I told you, we've talked about this, Jas and Alice and I. We have. I can't say it won't be hard for a while, but –" With a determined expression, she ran one finger delicately over the tri-color bracelet.

He cocked his head. "Maybe we could go on our own?"

"What? You just said –" She pushed back from him, still on his lap, but not too close.

He gripped her securely at her hips. "I meant it. I only meant for a _while_. The three of you work together, and I'm all for that. Hell, I don't even have a job, so that you do is, for me, something kind of amazin' and a bit bewilderin'. We could get together so's you can work and all that, and then we would have a place of our own to go back to, muirnín."

She studied his face and thought about what he was asking and it made sense. "To break that pattern, right?" She remembered how it felt to go through years of living with Edward and then not to have him anymore. It was as if her arm had been cut off, and the memories never dimmed. To do that to Jas and Alice? To _herself_? "I'd have you," she whispered, focusing inward. "So it would be making new patterns, more than anything."

He sighed, loud and long. "T'would be that." He pulled her a bit closer to nuzzle her shoulder. "I'd like to take you to meet my coven. To meet Siobhan and Maggie. To show you where I was born and my land, there. My home."

It would be going forward in her relationship with her mate. Not doing anything other than moving into a new part of her existence. It wouldn't be _rejecting_ Alice and Jasper, going off with Liam; it'd be learning about her mate, sharing with him, connecting more deeply.

_It's not goodbye. It's not_, she told herself, unfastening her bond-bracelet from her arm. Liam started in clear surprise, but she didn't stop to explain. It was hard to do this, but it was also something she understood would be necessary. A new pattern meant cleaning the slate a bit. Just a little. Holding the jewelry in her hand, she nodded, her heart hurting, but hopeful, too.

"Okay. We can do that." Then, she cocked her head. "What kind of wild game do you have in Ireland, anyway?"

* * *

><p>*cac - shite, Irish Gaelic<p>

My thanks to **evieeden, latessitrice, globert202, singlegrlmusing, LittleStar300, angel_eyes1_uk** and **domysticated** for the skips/bin/wheelie bin identification!

Remember, I LOVE to tease you! But I promise I'll only do so with your express written consent! There are only two more chapters to go!


	9. What a Woman, Reprise

**A/N:** First things first: Thank you! Your support of Bella's choices is heartening. :) I know y'all have an idea as to how this should play out, but remember, I had this all written before I started posting (except for the end of the next chapter, which is now complete). Thank you for your terrific, thoughtful reviews and for all the smiles on my face! Thanks, too, to **Katmom** for superior campfire-starting at A Different Forest.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nine: What a Woman, Reprise<strong>

"Bella?" Alice's edged voice alerted Jasper that something was amiss. Bella and Maguire had returned and were doing laundry, Alice catching up as was her wont. "I swear I wasn't peeking, so I don't know where you got that scar from."

The word _scar_ had Jasper in the laundry room at the end of the hall in a blur. "Scar?" He glared at Maguire, who had wrapped his arm around Bella, stroking the silvered crescent on her wrist. "How the hell did she –? Wait." He waited until Bella looked him in the eye. She wasn't shielding herself, so he could feel her pride, contentment, and sense of accomplishment. "Spill it, sugar."

"All those fighting lessons paid off, Jas," she said with a hint of impudence. "And Liam, here, was just amazing." Though part of him twinged painfully to see Bella so wrapped up in the other male, Jasper was also delighted to know that she had found her mate. The one who made her feel like he felt about Alice.

_Amazing, huh?_ Jasper groused to himself. _Bella's been wounded, dammit!_ "How was he amazing?" he wondered out loud. He pulled Alice against his torso to ground himself, because he didn't want to project his gift until he knew the situation. Bella was happy and proud and that meant whatever had happened couldn't have been traumatic for her.

Right?

After an awkward moment of hesitation, Liam spoke up and Jasper privately gave him points for it. "Well, while we were in Las Cruces, I was, er, hunting," he began, with a pained, swift glance at Bella's head where it rested against his chest. Jasper felt the flare of shame, of regret edged with inner conflict and reminded himself he could help Liam out with this, if the other man wished to be helped, anyway. "Just as I finished, we were approached by two vampires, speaking Spanish." Liam met Jasper's gaze with a flinty one of his own. "The one in charge was a female named Maria."

Tension instantly filled the room with a tangible pressure that held Jasper immobile. Memories pelted him like flaming rocks. His change, Maria's claiming of him, battle after battle, order after order. There had been good times, too, but fleeting moments of camaraderie and sex were overshadowed by pain, fury and impotent resentment. He had always wished he could have destroyed her – but he hadn't been able to, when it came down to it.

Coming more to himself, he saw that Alice was wrapped around him, her eyes dark with worry. Bella, with one of Liam's arms wrapped around her, was combing her fingers through his hair. He felt nothing from the others, though, and he ascertained that she was shielding him from any other emotions save his own. "Thank you," he rasped.

"Okay?"

"Yeah." Slowly, the curiosity from the others seeped back to his skin, where he could feel it. "Maria," he said, shaking himself for a moment and catching Liam's burgundy gaze. "Did she give any other name?"

"She said she was Maria de la Sangre," Bella answered, with a fairly decent accent. "And that we had hunted in her territory."

"Of the blood?" At first, Jasper snorted. "What was that, some kind of joke?"

"Bella didn't tell me what it meant," Liam said.

"_De la Sangre_. Of the blood."

"That's, that's like saying 'of the steak' or somethin', yeah?" Liam made a quasi-dismissive gesture. "An' here I thought she was tryin' to be intimidating."

_Intimidating_. "Well, her words were not her strongest weapon," Jasper said, sobering. "What happened? Did she do this to you?" he demanded of Bella, his voice hard. He would _destroy_ that woman once and for all. He would. His ladies had to be safe.

Bella focused and he felt soothing comfort blanket him. "No, that was her lieutenant. Liam handled Maria." She smiled. "He didn't even get a mark on him."

Liam looked uncomfortable, but his grip on Bella tightened; a new, hard swirl of protection spiraling from him that Jasper could only approve. "The lieutenant went for Bella, Maria went for me. If she hadn't had all that hair, she might've won, y'know?"

"He got a good grip on her braid," Bella elaborated, "and she couldn't get away from his teeth."

Liam shrugged. "Bella, here, tore the other guy t'pieces. She said you taught her?"

Jasper nodded, smiling a little at Bella. "I did. Forty years of self-defense classes didn't go to waste, did they?" Then, he extended a hand to Liam. "Thank you. For ridding the world of that woman." That it was his Maria was not a matter of doubt, to him, but he thought he would privately get in touch with old friends to see if she had indeed disappeared off the planet. Just to make sure. "And for fighting at Bella's side." He grinned. "We should have a sparring match."

Alice and Bella both groaned as Liam perked up, looking highly intrigued as anticipation spiked from him. "I like it!"

"So...where'd you learn to fight well enough to take out the terror of the Southwest?" Jasper asked mildly, though he was avidly interested.

"Oh, no. The Major's back," Alice murmured. Bella giggled and Jasper felt a slight frisson of lust mixed with nostalgia from both the women.

Liam, though, grimaced and nuzzled Bella's hair, breathing deeply. Discomfort, chagrin, and a need for reassurance pulsed lightly from him.

"Yeah," Bella added, "I guess I was kind of, um, preoccupied to ask, lately." From her, Jasper felt a quick flaring of desire blended with embarrassment before she abruptly shielded herself. But not Liam. It was as if she understood Jasper's own need to get a good idea about her mate. "So, Liam? Where'd you learn to kick serious vampire butt?"

Liam grimaced a little before sweeping Whitlock and Alice with a look. "I suppose it's right you ask, but it's a long story."

"We've got time," Bella reminded him, her fingers tracing a pattern on his stomach that made it hard to concentrate.

Liam ordered his thoughts. How to tell this without upsetting a coven of _animal-drinkers_, by the saints?

"I was born in 1927, on a farm outside of Dublin." He noticed that Bella fidgeted against him, while little Alice hopped up on the clothes dryer and Jasper leaned back a little against the washing machine. It was odd, how much this coven acted like humans when there were no humans around. "I know this because I had the family Bible with me when I was changed." He smiled sheepishly at Bella. "My sire, an amadán by the name of Finn, told me when I woke up like him that I was holding the Bible in front of me like a shield. Guess it didn't work, yeah? But I read it and found out my name and all...and then Finn told me he had to teach me the laws. I got a few things from the house, and we left."

"What about your family?" Bella asked, her voice quiet.

Liam shook his head. "I didn't know, then. The only thing that mattered was the burn." He saw Whitlock nodding, and the fae-missie looked at him with wise eyes. "So...you know how it goes, yeah? Finn made sure I knew the rules, but by then, see, he'd found that I had a gift."

Whitlock's smile twitched. "Thought you might."

"It's kind of like mine, but requires less effort."

Alice's face lit up and Liam wondered, "What's got you so happy about that, Fae Missie?" Giving her the nickname was natural, and it was only when he felt a slicing of something unpleasant that he thought that perhaps her mate might not appreciate another male offering her a nickname. "Sorry. I, er, just have been referring to her as _fae_ in my head, and it slipped out." He glanced quickly at his mate, who was giggling. "What?"

"It's so perfect!"

Alice was laughing, too, and eventually even Whitlock cracked a smile and, with a wave of his hand, prompted Liam to continue. He shook his head. "What about my covering had you all excited, there, _Alice_?"

"Oh! Well, it explains why we couldn't find you, before. I looked," she said, with a more solemn expression directed to Bella. "Really I did, but I couldn't find Bella's mate or any decision that would lead that way. Because that's the way my gift works. So you must have been, er, covered for a long time?"

Liam nodded, accepting her explanation and sighing over the need to go over his past. "Well, I was. I was changed when I was thirty years old, in 1957. Finn took me about, showed me what was what, and everything was fine there, for a while." He met Whitlock's eyes. "You know. Don't slaughter an entire town, clean up, don't let the Italians even hear of you." The blond man nodded grimly. "So. Everything was fine, but once Finn found out I could hide myself from trackers and the lot, he wanted to find ways to profit from it. Had in mind to live as the gentry, of all things, and wanted me to be his ticket. Thought he'd set himself up an' be important. He thought he had the right to have me help, since he'd 'given me' this 'new life.' I didn't agree with him at all, at all. I just wanted to be on my own." Whitlock and the fae-lass nodded. Bella just hugged him more tightly for a moment.

Dropping a kiss to the top of her head, Liam continued. "Well, he wasn't real subtle. He wanted us to try actually going to the Italian stronghold and we met with the Romanians."

"Volterra?" The little one piped up. "Was he insane?"

"Maybe. I was getting tired of him ripping off my arms when I wouldn't cooperate –"

Bella stiffened instantly, and even he could feel the fury that rolled off of her, and he wasn't an empath! "He. Did. What? Where is he? I – I'll tear him apart. I –"

Liam laughed and, ignoring the other two, picked her up so their eyes were level with one another. "Relax, muirnín. I took care of him."

Her face smoothed. "Oh. Good. Well, did he teach you how to fight?"

Liam told them how he had stayed with Finn for about a decade, and then in the chaos that was Ireland with the renewal of The Troubles, he got away. "Which was about when I met Siobhan. She knew the best hiding places in the Republic. We eventually settled up in Cavan and Monaghan, but not too close to the North, you understand. People were suspicious of anyone bein' off, there. And they've got themselves a sixth sense, sometimes." He told them how he had started covering himself up, about the time when he stopped and Finn had made a superior tracker find him with some story about owing him something or other and so he had thrown him into a lake and run.

"Eventually, I just kept myself covered all the time and hid with Siobhan. She had a way of making things work out, y'know?"

"So how'd you learn to fight?"

"Finn taught me. By the saints, I'm sure he would have turned me to ash if I hadn't learned fast. He got to be vindictive."

"So I heard you right, Maguire? You turned _him_ to ash instead? No more vindictive sires after you or anything?"

Liam met the other man's solid gaze. "You did, I did, and there aren't." He almost added a "sir" in there – it was practically instinctive. He realized at that instant that in _this_ coven, there was a real leader and, familial and comfortable as their chat in the laundry room had been, if he were to join this group as Bella's mate, there would be structure. But, he sensed, it would also be fair, because the women would make it so.

It wasn't until the four had split into two and two for private time that he realized something. Bella's wrist had been bare of her bracelet – and so had the wrists of the other couple. Something in him relaxed a bit, a tension lessened in his forehead, and he nuzzled his mate's head for a moment for no _apparent_ reason.

* * *

><p>"How did you do it?" Bella asked Alice.<p>

Her dearest friend in the world wrapped a slender arm around Bella's shoulders. "I've seen us having this conversation, you know. So I had time to think about it." They shared a familiar chuckle. "And I did it by just being sad, to be honest." She popped a furtive look around Bella's body as they sat in the sun, their skin shining like diamonds as the water sparkled likewise in the fountain at their backs. "Had to make sure Liam wasn't there. Once he found out I couldn't see him, he's enjoyed playing hide and seek far too much." Bella could see that; while Alice was amused, blind spots did not appeal to her.

Jasper had taken Liam out hunting. Male bonding time on the surface, they all knew that what Jasper wanted to do was to get Liam more adapted to the idea of hunting animals. Like Liam, Jasper had feasted from humanity for decades before meeting his animal-drinking mate; he was the best one to introduce a newcomer to the lifestyle.

"So you were just _sad_?" Bella sounded incredulous. Then, she thought about it. Her unrehearsed, completely honest reaction to the kill Liam had made in Las Cruces had certainly elicited an emotional response from her mate.

Alice tilted her head thoughtfully. "Well, you know, I had an advantage. The humans helped, too. He could feel them and he didn't want to feel them when he killed them. You only have your own feelings that matter." She took both of Bella's hands in hers. "But no matter what, you have to make sure that his prey doesn't affect your love for him, okay? No matter what."

"Of course it won't!"

"And you forgive him, every time. And tell him you love him. Every time."

Bella nodded pensively. "I will. Of course I will. Alice...it's so amazing." Then, she winced and cupped her friend's face in her hands. "I mean, I love you guys. I do. So much."

"But it's different," Alice said, sounding sad but also at peace. "We know, sweetie. We do. And we love you so much." Her smile appeared, looking very Puck-like in its mischief. "I don't suppose he wants to share?"

"Alice!" They laughed, holding on to one another in a self-perpetuating round of mirth. "Um, no," Bella confessed after a time. "He said he didn't think he could..." She caught Alice's eyes. "It's – I feel – I miss you two... but..."

"We know," the Sprite whispered. They held one another and rocked gently while the fountain splashed delicately behind them.

Bella sighed, having noted before that Jasper and Alice had, as she had, removed their bracelets. "How long did you and Jasper have as a couple before you found the Cullens?"

"Two years, three months, seven days. Why?" Then, Alice stopped rocking and pulled away to look Bella in the eye. "Oh! Yes, I see, now! Oh, Bella, you'll have such a good time. And you'll be back."

Within her, Bella felt something let go. Something that had been tied was not anymore, but she was able to breathe and be happy about it. "Yes, we absolutely will."

* * *

><p>He needed her. They'd been mated for such a short time that the need for physical proximity was still great, Jasper had explained. "Y'all will settle in soon enough," the coven leader said, his voice casual as they jogged northward. "For now, let's focus on finding you a predator. Maybe a cougar. They taste better."<p>

Liam grimaced. "Can vampires vomit?" he'd asked.

Jasper had only flashed a grin. "Yep."

The cougar smelled...well, it _smelled_. But it had a beating heart and Liam vowed, for the sake of the look in his mate's eyes, to try. "How the hell do I do this?" he'd muttered.

"Did you watch Bella?"

Liam could see her in his memory. "Yessss." He could feel himself becoming uncomfortably excited at the recollection. _Damnation_. The empath could feel it, too. _Shite_.

A quick look at the warrior's eyes told Liam that yes, Jasper had felt it all and, moreover, he knew how provocative Bella was when she hunted.

Liam knew had to _handle_ this. He did.

"Focus on the heartbeat," the other man murmured, his voice only barely above the whisper of the desert breeze through the dry brush.

He did and, surprisingly enough, Liam felt a response within himself and he took off after the heartbeat. A hot odor hit his nose. Hot and smelling like – well, like _blood_, which was a relief to him. The big cat poured on speed, but Liam was fast enough to keep up with it. At last, he judged he could make a leap to the back and he did.

Through the arid, pre-dawn sky he jumped, landing on the cougar's back so hard she buckled in her run.

"Break her spine!" Jasper called.

As he had punched far too many men in his existence, Liam did exactly that, breaking his prey's spine so that she could run no more. The similarity ended there, however. He went for the pumping vein in the beast's throat, ripping through fur and hide rather than thin skin. Almost, he rose from the breathing animal and left it there to seek more palatable prey.

Almost.

But then, he remembered the devastated darkness of his Isabella's eyes and, grimacing, tore into the cougar again.

What a rush of blood there was! He actually choked on a laugh, so quickly did the animal's life flow into him. _Swallow, swallow, gulp_. He held on to the cat's head and shoulder and drank his fill and then some. It wasn't half bad, if he didn't think about it too hard. And it was fast! So fast!

After a few minutes, the flow slowed and he had to draw blood out on his own, but by then, he had become inured to the taste. When he had drained the animal completely, he rose and wiped his face with his sleeve. "Well, now. That was an adventure."

From a safe distance, Jasper called, "That was good." What Liam heard, though, was, _She'll be proud of me._

And that, for him, was what he wanted. He couldn't give her a house on a desert estate or a fancy car or even a new watch, but he could give her _something_.

"My turn," Jasper said, and the men ran together, sometimes in silence, sometimes sharing quick anecdotes until the coven leader found a few antlered beasts. The creatures were down quickly, and then Jasper showed him the art of "cleaning up." "Bella likes to dismember the corpses."

"I remember," Liam said.

"Well, normally, we bury them under boulders. I still prefer to do that, to be honest. I get itchy thinking we've left evidence, you know?"

With a knowing smile, Liam agreed. "Better strategy to keep the evidence hidden."

"See? You _get_ this. Good."

Approval. Felt. Grand.

The sun was glancing off their skin, making it shine as they reached the house after their hunt. Liam saw the women – their _mates_ – sitting in front of the fountain, apparently having some girl-time. Long years of association with Siobhan and Maggie had taught him that females needed that.

"Bella!" he called.

Her head popped up, expression expectant, and the rest of her followed as if her body were a stream of water, liquid and graceful, following her head. "Liam!"

He caught her in his arms and breathed her in. Honey and flowery fragrances, with a hint of his own blended, too. This reassured him, after spending the day with the man she had lived with and been a lover to for so long. Liam _needed_ to know she was _his_.

"How was it?" she whispered.

He smiled into her eyes. "Good. Got a lion."

The other couple was moving indoors. "He did great – for a first time!"

Bella laughed and the approval in her eyes, the golden shine, made biting through all that fur worthwhile. "That's wonderful," she breathed, pressing tightly against his body. "I'm so proud of you! I love you. Thank you for doing that."

"Shall I show you how you can thank me?" he asked, uncomfortable with talking about how he felt. Pressing her hips into him, he felt her body move in friction-producing counterpoint. "Ah, seems you've got an idea already, yeah?"

"Oh, yeah..." She bit her lip lightly before pulling his head down to her own. He was more than willing for her to be aggressive in this, so he waited until she opened her mouth before he ravished hers.

Desire all but exploded within him. He had to have her and if they didn't pause right then, he'd push her against the wall of the house and –

"Liam," Bella panted, her hands gripping and tugging as they moved restlessly over him. "Come on. Inside."

"I'm all yours, my muirnín..."

He could feel an additional wave of lust hit him as soon as they were in the cool shade of the house. Bella moaned, her eyes darting to where Liam could already hear the other couple. _This could be awkward... _Picking Bella up, Liam ran up the stairs to the room they had shared before, the one with the circular shower in slate and turquoise. Their scents combined in that space, making him instantly more at ease in a way he had not felt before.

When he moved to close the door, Bella shook her head. "No, leave it – it'll be better. Trust me..."

Her persuasive techniques being more than adequate to the task, he did. Soon, their clothes were off and nothing whatsoever was mentioned about sand in anyone's hair. She murmured, "Post hunt mating ritual," somewhere over his skin, her tongue tracing wavy lines as he tried valiantly to slow her down. "Liam..."

_By the saints, she's going to be the death of me_, he considered as his sweet mate pushed him back on the bed. Her white skin glided silkily over his own. He could feel the brush of her long hair on his stomach while she lavished her attention on the evidence of his arousal.

Hers, he could sense, and it only made his own greater. That, and the sensation of even more sexual need that infused his body, making both him and his mate growl.

"C'mere," he insisted, tugging lightly on her hair and using his feet to catch her legs. Propelling her up his body, he rolled over and settled between her thighs. "I love you," he whispered.

"I know. You're my mate," she breathed, her eyes dark with passion. "Show me."

He did, his body joining with hers just as another wave of desire crashed over them both. "_A Thiarna déan trócaire!*_" he shouted. "What. The hell. Is that?"

"Ohhhh...Liam..." She came with a strangled-sounding scream, her body tight around him, her eyes closed and mouth open. His own climax was immediate, and Bella cried out again, eyes open. "Oh!"

A roar echoed through the house, and it wasn't Liam's own. While he was immersed in Isabella, he could almost forget they shared the house with the warrior and the psychic. Still another echo of lust seemed to sweep through their bedroom.

He met Bella's eyes as she came down from a third, less-potent orgasm. Part of him was exhausted, gratefully so, by the rapid, multiple experiences. But another part of him felt torn...he wanted his mate to _himself_, damn it all.

"You all right?" Bella asked, brushing his jaw with her fingertips. "You look unhappy..." Brow furrowed, she wondered, "What is it?"

Shifting through a few ways to say what he was feeling took him a couple of seconds. At last, he lowered his head and brushed her lips with his. Gently. "Time to make new patterns. Hunting, post hunt mating rituals, all that."

Understanding lit her gaze. "All right. But – when we have them – can we come back?"

He grinned, knowing that they would, because she wanted it and he wanted her happy and so he'd want it, too. "We will, yeah. And who knows," he went on, rolling to his back and pulling her to lie atop him. "Maybe I'll go to university and get myself all educated so I can join the family business."

"You don't have to do that, you know."

"I want to; well I want to do _something_, anyway. You and your coven make me think I've been doin' it wrong for a while."

She shook her head. "Not even. You're wonderful. Amazing, even. And I'm so happy you're here." Her legs rubbed against his as she gave him a saucy wink.

He laughed and buried his nose in her hair. "What a woman."

* * *

><p>A Thiarna déan trócaire! - Lord have mercy! - Irish<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** There will be a trip to Ireland in an outtake I'll post after this story is complete. Probably next week.

I've got a bit of a peek at the final chapter of the story for anyone who lets me know they want one. Remember, I won't spoil you without your consent. See you Friday.


	10. My Desire is Always to be Here

**A/N:** And...we're here! Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, added this story or OUNtY to your lists, tweeted about updates, and in general made me smile. :) Thanks to Katmom for her unflagging support of this AU, though I made her cry. :) Thank you to all the brave souls who have followed Bella and supported her choices and who have developed a "thing" for Liam. :)

My thanks to **Crazy4Cullen104 **for the Irish slang in this chapter. :)

Let's wrap this up...

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Ten: My Desire is Always to be Here<strong>

Patterns were a lot of fun. Sometimes complicated, but there was a great deal to be said for taking the time to create them with brilliant color, strong lines and firm conviction.

The first pattern to be set was that of hunting. Bella exulted when her mate's eyes started going orange instead of red. She thanked Jasper for his patience and understanding in teaching the other man how to best adapt to the new diet.

Jasper had just squeezed her hand. "You're welcome." Still, he had let her feel his love for her and his acceptance and protection. "And remember, you can kick his ass if he falls off the wagon."

She snorted.

Leaving, after they had all been together for a few months, had been hard. "You can always come back, Bella," Alice had whispered in fierce assurance. "But this is the right thing, right now. For all of us," she added with a sad but determined look.

"I know it is. And we'll be back. I love you guys too much to stay away."

Alice's eyes gleamed with venomous tears. "You, too. Always."

Some of the new patterns had been difficult to maintain. For herself, it took time to stop wanting to tell Jasper and Alice about every little thing. She still spoke to them, often, but her first priority became Liam. And she had had no idea that it would take months to break the habit of touching her empty wrist, void now of the gold symbol of her partnership with Alice and Jasper, but it had.

However, Liam had gifted her with something new.

"Here, in front of your coven, those who love you, my muirnín, I want to give this. I've had it since I was changed," he had said on bended knee while his eyes were still changing from red to orange. His posture had surprised her and it showed. From Jasper, she felt a wave of supportive comfort and so she relaxed as her mate continued. "The claddagh is a ring to symbolize faith," Liam had told her, holding out a ring that was not new, but looked to have been worn and loved before. For Bella, this was perfect. She liked old things that had meaning and a story behind them. "If you wear this on your right hand, it says your heart is unspoken for," he explained, a smile lingering at the corners of his lips. He kissed her right hand and left it bare. "On your left, though," he went on while Alice fairly bounced next to her, "if you wear it with the crown facing to you, it means you're considering someone. If you wear it out, it means your heart _is_ spoken for."

Then, instead of focusing at her hand, he looked into her eyes. "You just have to show me which way to put it on, Isabella."

She smiled a little and tugged his hand to urge him to stand up. "Face it out, Liam. You know my heart is spoken for."

His grin was blinding as he did so. Behind her, two hands – large and small – curled over her shoulders and she understood.

It was official and they were all moving on.

Liam was moving on, too, in his way. He had killed once – two months after they had left the Whitlocks. Just once.

The two of them had gone hunting – to which she was admittedly looking forward with a great deal of anticipation – her more experienced nose taking them where she hoped they would find a robust predator.

What they had found was a pair of hikers, armed with recording equipment that Bella appreciated from her own forays into wildlife studies with Jasper and Alice for Whitlock Publishing. Her distraction had been her mate's downfall, however.

One of the hikers slipped, skinning his knee on a rock – and Liam was on him like a mountain lion, all smooth speed and striking power. Bella had been unable to even cry out – struck voiceless with his violence.

When he had drained them both, Liam seemed to come back to himself and he actually collapsed on the rough ground, amid a clatter of tripods and cookware. "Oh, God..." Crimson eyes had sought hers, sorrow brighter than the blood, even. "Bella..."

"Be sad," Alice had advised not so long before. So Bella was. And her sorrow had been enough. Liam had never "fallen off the wagon" again.

* * *

><p>From: Dr. E.P. Masen<p>

To: Dr. Jasper Brandon, Dr. Alice Brandon, Dr. Isabella Maguire

Date: 2062. Jan. 15

Good afternoon:

I am writing to thank you for your recent shipment of introductory materials for Emrys Academy. With the current prevailing situation, much of what you sent us has been re-routed, leaving me with only the Scope and Sequence of your Curriculum Series.

We here at the Academy would like to ask you to consider joining us for a semester, so that we can take advantage of your expertise and so our current faculty could benefit from your research. We would provide suitable accommodations and compensation, to be discussed upon your acceptance.

Thanking you for your time and consideration,

I remain your friend,

Esme Platt Masen

Head of School

Emrys Academy

* * *

><p>Liam had met Esme years and years ago, when she and her mate, Carlisle, were taking a tour of the United Kingdom. Esme and Siobhan had hit it off splendidly and the four of them enjoyed a companionable visit, with the elder vampire among them mostly listening to his mate enjoy herself. Liam had had the impression that they were relaxing, and so they were.<p>

"It's a large family and I miss the children," Esme had confided quietly, "but it is nice to get Carlisle away, too. He's needed a vacation, tireless as he may be."

As they prepared to travel to the Emrys Academy, in Canada's Manitoba province, Liam paused in the act of packing a well-traveled suitcase. "Muirnín?"

Bella lifted her head from rolling assorted tops and arranging them in her own luggage. "Yes?"

"How long has it been since you've seen Carlisle?"

She twisted her lips as she thought. "A few months before we met, you and I. Last time I saw the rest of the family, really, except for Jasper and Alice." Liam nodded. They got together with the other couple once every three months for their work, but then Liam and Bella returned to Ireland, where they were currently living. Bella smiled broadly, coming around the bed to wrap her arms around him. "I look forward to introducing you officially and all."

"Yeah?" he asked, pleased. "Meet the folks and all that?"

She smirked. "You met 'the folks' before I did, if I remember correctly."

He plowed his fingers through her hair. "What about Edward and Bronwyn?"

Bella sighed but offered him a wry smile. "I imagine they'll be students." Her smile changed, looking smug and proud. "And I think you're man enough to handle Edward, no matter what he decides to pull." Then, she leaned more heavily against him. "Liam? I was thinking... I miss Jasper and Alice."

"It's been a year since we left," he noted, brushing his hands down her body to rest at her hips. "I suppose we've made patterns of our own, yeah?"

He didn't need an empath to comprehend her delight. "I suppose we have."

"Then let's see what we can do, yeah?"

Her hands slid up his arms to rest around his neck. "I love you."

He grinned. "Ah, you're just sayin' that b'cause I let ya have your own way."

She would have shown him otherwise, but her phone rang.

"Alice," they said in tandem before laughing. Liam was familiar enough, after their extended honeymoon, with the notion that Alice's calls often came after a decision had been made.

"Hello, Alice! What does the crystal ball say, today?"

Silvery laughter reached their ears and Liam nuzzled Bella's head as he listened to the conversation. "Well, this is the thing. Can we do a conference?"

"Sure, if you want," Liam murmured.

"Great! See you in five."

Liam admitted to himself that it was good to see the other couple via the satellite connection. He looked forward to reuniting with them in New Mexico.

* * *

><p>A week later, greetings having been exchanged, Jasper settled into the sofa as Liam did likewise into the love seat across the room. Between them lie a white bearskin rug, taken from a rare albino. Memories abounded, but Jasper tucked them away. He was busy.<p>

The Maguires felt comfortable, together. The initial desperation they'd emoted as newly mated vampires had subsided to a love that he felt to be distinctive. Bella wore contentment like a pretty dress, and it swirled about her in constant emotional responsiveness to her mate. It made Jasper happy to feel it with her.

"She's doing fine, you know," Liam murmured with a slight motion of his head as he watched Bella and Alice huddle over a computer display.

Surprised that the other man had picked up on his perusal, Jasper smiled broadly. "I know. Thank you."

"You're welcome. So. What are we going to do about the ex?"

Jasper didn't feel any overt antagonism from Liam; just a sort of vengeful mischief. It made him smile a little. "What did you have in mind?"

Alice giggled, Bella looked up. In an instant the reunited and slightly larger Whitlock Coven was gathered, standing on the bearskin rug. Jasper felt Liam's mood affect Bella, who was leaning comfortably into her mate. Alice's smile was far too broad and nothing had even been said, yet.

"All right, Sprite," he said, wrapping one arm around her, "what is it?"

Alice made a "hurry up" motion in Liam's direction. The Irishman grinned. "Well, this is what I was thinkin'. Bella told me how Edward was an eejit about the three o'ya, back in the day." That _the day_ was only two years prior didn't seem to occur to Maguire so Jasper didn't bring it up, either. "So I was thinkin', seeing as how he's a mind-reader and all, we could give him something to read, maybe."

Bella's brows rose into her forehead. "Like what? I can keep our minds shielded, you know. He doesn't have to see anything unless we want him to."

Liam dropped a kiss on her hair. "That's the thing, see. What if we _want_ him to see something? Something that'll get his knickers in a twist?"

"Oh, come on!" Alice practically exploded. "It'll be _fun_! I mean, you know, no one has to actually get naked..."

"What?" Jasper stared at Liam. Stared _hard_. "What the hell?"

The other man held up a hand. "No, like the Fae-missie said, no one's getting in the altogether. But we can make it look that way, yeah? Swimsuits?"

Bella's gasp came an instant before her giggles. "Um, that'd be great. I could keep our minds from him and just, you know, slip...? At some point when we're all thinking about this?"

Jasper nodded slowly. "I like it."

"Well, come on!" Alice insisted, tugging at his hand. "Let's change and set the scene!"

"Who's got the bigger bed?" Bella called as she and Liam hurried upstairs.

"They're the same. We'll just get cozy!"

Later, still in their swimsuits – the ladies wearing strapless bikinis that had done the job quite well, in Jasper's estimation – they gathered outside under the sun, taking in the warmth of the barren desert sky. "Last day," Jasper said softly, reaching for Alice with one hand as they reclined on the chaise lounges. Her skin seemed to move with the sparkles that layered it. "I wanted to say that I'm glad the Maguires have rejoined us."

An unshielded Bella was an adventure for an empath. Delight. homecoming, anticipation – all billowed from her in generous waves. "I'm happy we're back, too. We both are."

"Bella was tellin' me that there'll be a house for us up there in Canada?" Liam shifted so that he looked across the bodies of the two women. Alice and Bella, holding hands even yet, were sitting close to one another in the center two chaises.

Alice sat up in a flash. "Yes! Esme's got a place set up for us. I told her what we'd be wanting."

"And what would that be, Fae-missie?" Jasper just shook his head. The first time Liam had used that term, it had struck Jasper oddly; now, it was just a family-name. There were only playful feelings, friendly if not quite familial, and Jasper had decided that this was just Liam Maguire's way.

Excitement danced all around Alice as she sketched out what she had told Esme. "After we conferenced, before you came home?" Bella nodded, having moved to wrap her arms around her knees. Liam came up behind her on the lounge chair and Jasper decided that looked good enough to imitate, so he moved to Alice's and wrapped an arm around her. "Well," Alice went on after pressing her back up against him. "I talked to Esme and she said she'd remodel the interior to suit, you know? She was trying to be very careful and not presume we would be two-and-two instead of four-together, you know?"

Jasper chuckled quietly at the flare of embarrassment that arced from Bella. Liam, curiously, just gave off a sense of intense satisfaction, though his expression didn't shift or anything. "And you told her two-and-two," Jasper prompted, adopting his wife's labeling system.

"I did!" She reclaimed Bella's hand and linked fingers with her. "I also sent her those shower plans."

Embarrassment shot from Bella again, accompanied by Liam's raucous laughter. "Thanks, Alice," they said in tandem. Bella kept Alice's hand in hers. "And thank you. For – for all of it." Gratitude, still lightly laced with a hint of wistfulness, curled between the two women.

"You're welcome."

* * *

><p>"So, you're just keepin' the house here, then?" Liam had asked as they sheeted the main pieces of furniture. "Not going to sell it?"<p>

His mate smilingly smoothed white cloth over the sofa in the living room. "Nope. We might want to come out this way again, and it'll be nice to have something that's ours, already. We have a great place outside of Ithaca in New York State and a really nifty mountain home in West Virginia, and–"

Shaking his head, Liam guessed he'd never get his head around the idea of having enough monetary resources to do that. "I feel like I need to contribute, you know?"

"I felt the same way. We can talk about what you want to do on the way over, if you like." She grinned and moved to wrap her arms around him. "We're flexible." The light in her eyes told him exactly what she was thinking by _flexible_ and he growled, low in his chest, because he knew it turned her on. "I can be really flexible," she whispered.

"We'll have to see, won't we?"

Laughter rang upstairs and he heard Jasper shout, "Enough, already! We've got a long drive!" The couple went upstairs to collect the last of their things, meeting the Whitlocks in the upper hallway.

Liam had spent some of the year he considered his and Bella's honeymoon learning how to drive like an American. With a wink, he snatched the keys off of the chest of drawers and – with the last of the suitcases under his arms – left their room and joined Jasper on the ground floor.

The taller man wore an expression that was something between predatory and proud. Liam asked him what he was thinking.

"Well, since you asked," Jasper said with a slight pursing of his lips, "I'm kinda looking forward to seeing what Edward makes of you. You know, in person."

Liam jerked his head in the direction of where he could hear Alice and Bella giving the upstairs a final walk-through. "What, she hasn't seen?"

"I don't tell him everything!" Alice called, a laugh in her voice.

"She's real smug," the empath said with an affectionate shake of his head. "But it'll be good. Unless you decide to rip Edward a new one...?"

Liam canted his head off to one side. "To be honest? What's raggin' the shite out of me is how he harassed all of you for so long. He'd no call to be doing that. Like I told you once, if I had known – known Isabella was out there? I'd've come. So I can't be sorry he sent Alistair to look for me."

"I'm not sorry, either," Bella said softly as she and Alice came slowly down the stairs, holding hands. She met Liam's eyes with a warm smile. "Not at all."

"Then no ripping up Edward," Alice interjected as she and Bella joined them.

Liam sighed a long, loud sigh and nodded. "All right, Fae-missie. If that's that what my muirnín wants."

* * *

><p>"First day of school. Again." Bronwyn said with a lopsided smile. She adjusted her uniform with the harp and staff on the jacket's badge before turning to Edward. He saw the playful light in her eyes when she asked, "Ready to meet the new teachers?" <em>Yes, I'm okay with it, just so you know. I know you've been so much more at ease, Edward, since my sire found Bella's mate.<em>

Edward embraced her, her familiar form fitting to him. "I know and I'm glad. I am. And yes, I'm ready to meet the new teachers," he said with a chuckle. "Odd, to think of them being on the faculty..." From what he had seen of Bella's mate in Alistair's memory, as well as Carlisle and Esme's, he had a good idea of what to expect in terms of appearance and carriage. He looked forward to meeting Bella's vampire mate in person.

Just at present, he and Bronwyn were the only "children" in the family attending school at the Emrys Academy. Emmett and Rosalie were touring Europe, though they were coming back to see the Whitlocks and Maguires.

_Edward? We're home and we've brought them with us._

Carlisle's notification was silent but Bronwyn's thoughts let him know she had heard the voices of their visitors approaching the house. _I know, I know. Let's go. We need to get these first meetings over with before we have an audience_.

Edward sent his awareness out as he and Bronwyn left their room. It was _his_ room, officially, while she had one on another floor for show. Esme was the Head of School and Carlisle the campus physician, but Bronwyn – though his "girlfriend" – was staying with them on an exchange program.

Ostensibly. The fact that she still retained her accent – though she had tried to eradicate it – helped their current "story."

Nothing. Only Carlisle and Esme. _Damn it, Bella_, Edward groused internally. Not that he should have expected anything less – she did tend to shield herself and Jasper and Alice, ever since that one family reunion when she had let it slip... He refused to imagine she had let him into her head on purpose while she had been making love with Jasper. Bella couldn't have done something like that.

He moved to Carlisle's mind as he tied his shoes and saw that, suddenly, Carlisle was blocked as well. Despite his annoyance, he had to laugh a little.

_What is it? _his wife asked

He puffed out a breath. "Bella. Hiding everyone."

_Ah, handy gift with you around, love. C'mere. _She drew his head down for a kiss, long and forceful._ Just remember _that_. _

Chuckling at the possessive tenor of her mind, Edward took her hand and led her from the room, trying not to be annoyed that Bella was keeping everyone's mind hidden from him for the moment. "Hello," he called.

"Edward, Bronwyn!" Esme answered, her voice layered with satisfaction. "Glad you made it down. Carlisle and I didn't need to be introduced, but you do. Liam Maguire, this is Edward and his wife, Bronwyn."

Edward had to take a moment to get a feel for the other man. He had known what he would look like, but still – it was different to see him in person. About his own height, Liam Maguire looked – looked like a man who had lived a full life before he met the vampire who had changed him. He was older in physical age than Carlisle or even Esme, and with Bella pulled into his side, he, well, he fit with her. Bella herself had been twenty-one at her change and never had she looked as contentedly mature as she did at the moment.

They all appeared to be content, the four of them. Older, somehow, though that was impossible. And that was when it suddenly struck him – they were a unit. Distant and apart from the family.

Bella and Alice were holding hands, their arms entwined... And something within Edward recoiled. _By all that's holy, they can't still be doing that, can they? Not now that Bella's truly mated!_ He froze, unable to move to accept the hand that Liam had extended in greeting. Every thought in his head shouted out against Bella being yet involved in a polyamorous relationship. Bad enough that Jasper and Alice had opened their marriage before, but now? When Bella herself was mated and married? _All four of them? Really?_

"Edward?" Esme's voice was soft and expectant. "Are you all right, dear?"

Even Bronwyn was looking at him oddly. _Edward? What's wrong? Is she blocking you again? Is this not the same man my sire found?_

Force of will alone moved him to finally take Liam Maguire's hand. "Welcome to," he had been going to say "the family" but realized that that wasn't really right. For he wasn't, exactly. The Whitlocks had separated themselves a long time ago. "Emrys Academy," he substituted smoothly.

Liam gripped his hand, Bella gasped, and Edward was hit by everyone's thoughts at once.

White sheets, pale skin, four people laughing together. Bella and Alice snuggled under a sheet while their mates – mates! – watched. He saw, from three sets of eyes, Liam Maguire's chiseled and lightly-scarred torso, Jasper's heavily scarred one, and the slender, pale limbs of both Alice and Bella. Fingers twined, limbs brushing... All four members of the other group were apparently thinking of exactly the same thing, from their different perspectives. Maguire, in particular, was an object of intense focus. Alice and Bella had both had their hands on his shoulders...?

With a quick grip and hard squeeze, the handshake was over. Bronwyn's concern was flying through her thoughts, Carlisle had taken a quick step to Edward's side and Esme was saying, "He's not usually this terse," to their guests. _Edward! Be polite! I don't know what you saw, but what mated couples do in private is surely something you've learned to tune out over the past century! _

Trying to compose himself against an upwelling of denial within himself, Edward was distracted by the last sound he expected.

Liam Maguire was laughing. Hugely.

"Your _face_! Oh, by all the saints, that was worth it. Oh, _hell_ yes."

Jasper hit him with a wave of amusement and smug vindication. Alice, his favorite sister, giggled and thought, _You totally had it coming, sorry. At least Liam didn't try to rip your arms off. _

Bella's thoughts were of something else entirely. She was remembering a – a fight? Where Liam ripped the head off another vampire with a long, black braid. _Edward...? _

Startled that she would address him thus, Edward focused on her thoughts – thoughts that were still precious enough to command his full attention as he moved quickly to stand directly in front of her. "What?"

Disentangling herself from Alice's arm, Bella took one of his hands in both of her own. _Thank you. Thank you for asking Alistair to find Liam. I was really angry with you for a while, but it was for the best. _

He smiled, grateful that she was opening her thoughts to him, pleased that she felt he had done the right thing. "You're welcome."

_I'm not done_, she went on silently, one brow lifted. _As of now, know this. I am not a member of your family. We're like the Denali Coven; distant cousins. You may not now or in the future endeavor to interfere with us in any way. I know you felt responsible for me, but you don't have to. I have a coven, I have a mate. And if you ever try to interfere or cast aspersions on anything we try to do? I won't keep Liam or Jasper from doing whatever they wish._

Bella was grateful, yes, but he could see in the background flickering of her current thoughts the multiple occasions where he had angered and upset her, his first love. He couldn't erase her memory or her past. Neither could he feel he had done wrongly in asking Alistair to find her mate. As Kate's true mate, the misanthrope understood what the bond meant.

"Welcome, Liam Maguire," Bronwyn said, interrupting Edward as he slid his hand from Bella's. "I understand you're from Ireland?"

"And you're from Wales, then? Is that what I'm hearin'?"

With a hug from Alice and a perhaps-too-firm clap on the arm from Jasper, the awkward meeting was over.

_See you in Biology, Edward,_ Bella thought sometime later as they were leaving to have a tour of the campus.

"See you there, Dr. Maguire."

_Isabella Maguire,_ he thought as he took Bronwyn's hand. There was Bella, walking with the others. She looked entirely at ease among them. An educated professional, confident in her knowledge and ready and able to share her experiences with others.

If she had stayed human, as he had wished for her a long time ago, she would be seventy-four years old, perhaps even with a husband who was white or gray beside her, with children, maybe, and grandchildren and maybe even great-grandchildren to appreciate her...

But she had chosen to die to her humanity. And here, as she disappeared into one of the sun-and-wind-powered buildings that made up Emrys Academy, Edward considered that she had, perhaps, known what was best for her existence after all.

* * *

><p>Their yacht was called the <em>Gazelle<em> and Liam enjoyed piloting her. While Bella, Alice and Jasper had worked in classrooms during the day, he had earned his boating license. Alice had been very helpful and Jasper had seen to it that Liam's identification papers now included this little accomplishment.

It was a good life he had.

And even better once he was away from Bella's ex. The fella was an eejit, but Liam had had his own brand of fun with him. If he felt like Edward was watching him, he thought of the way Bella had looked, fighting with Pablo. Oh, he'd been worried then, Liam had, but the memory of it was perfect for driving the mind-reader out of his head.

Edward Cullen still thought that the four of them, the Whitlock Coven (a title which Liam accepted because Jasper Whitlock was clearly the Alpha Male in the situation), were sexually involved with one another. And Carlisle, after three quick apologies and nine chagrined expressions sent Liam's way, had apparently given Edward a thorough dressing down.

Alice had seen it coming and had made sure that they were out of earshot, but still, she had shared her vision of it and that had been enough for Liam.

"_Edward. I realize that the situation might not be what you'd choose for yourself, but they are four consenting, experienced adults. When I knew Liam, he was involved with Siobhan and then they were joined by another female. He is accustomed to a, a plurality. And Bella and Jasper and Alice have been a loving, healthy triad for decades. No one is hurt by this."_

"_But Carlisle, it's not right!"_

"_It isn't for you, certainly. Nor is it a relationship I would choose for myself. But if they have, it's not for you to judge. They are faculty at this school this year. Their personal life is not our concern, insofar as they aren't having public sex in the Quad. Just like any other member of our faculty."_

He sounded just like an outraged teenager, as Alice had shared what she had seen. Liam suspected that the psychic would not have been so amused if Edward's sensibilities had had true cause for offense; if the Maguires and the Whitlocks had been _sharing the love_, as it were, Alice would not have been laughing at her brother at all, at all. Favorite or no.

Keeping the fact that the couples were not sexually intertwined (save by Jasper's empathic gift – a circumstance that Liam had learned to enjoy) a bit of a secret for the duration had been a challenge, allowing Liam to exercise his own gift. Nowhere near as flexible as his mate, he had still learned to shield more than himself at need. Just to give his muirnín a break, now and again.

It was a pleasure not to have to do that, since they were far from the Cullens. Out on the open ocean, where the sun bounced off the South Pacific like it did off their skin, there was no need to hide anything from anybody.

"Liam!" Alice called, her voice coming up from her stateroom below decks. "I want to go swimming!"

"Aye, aye, Captain Fae," he shouted back, laughing. Bella stretched, her body distracting him momentarily as it moved lithely in front of the blood red sail the _Gazelle_ sported. "I'll drop anchor."

Bella saw to the ropes, furling the sail. What might have taken two to three men could be done by one immortal woman in half the time. Her hair spun out as the wind toyed with it, and Liam stepped from the wheel to watch her. She was a most beguiling creature.

"Siren," he murmured.

She tied her final knot and smiled at him. "If I am, why are you so far away?"

Laughing, he ran, scooped her up in his arms, and leapt over the guardrail. "Are you happy, dove?"

Blinking water from her golden eyes, she laughed – a throaty sound. "I am. You?"

"Absolutely."

Jasper apparently followed Liam's own excellent example, jumping into the water with his mate in his arms. "Ask us!" the little one insisted, sliding from her husband's arms to rest against his back as they all churned water with their tireless legs.

"All right then, Fae-missie. Are ya happy?" Bella propped herself up on his shoulders so that her arms crossed over his chest. He was surrounded by her and nothing had ever felt better.

"We are. Right, Jas?"

Jasper met his eyes before smiling into Bella's. "Yes, yes we are."

As if they'd planned it, Bella and Alice laughed, their joy ringing in golden and silver tones. "And they lived happily ever after."

_**~The End~**_

* * *

><p><strong>EN:** You are the best, all of you.

There is the Irish Outtake still to come. Look for it in the next week or so.

Thanks again for joining me. You're the best.

_~LJ_


	11. Irish Introductions  Outtake

**A/N: **I made it before Saint Patrick's Day! Here, I bring you Liam and Bella in Ireland. This outtake takes place during chapter ten of _Tender is the Night,_ after Liam gave Bella her ring and before the letter from Esme about joining the faculty at Emrys Academy. There's also a chuckle in here for some of you. You'll know it when you see it. ;-)

* * *

><p><strong>Irish Introduction<strong>

"The thing is, we don't need a car, Bella," Liam explained as they walked at a human's sauntering pace from the airport in Dublin. "Compared to the States, Ireland's 'just a good stretch of the legs.'"

With a laugh, Bella said, "You so quoted _The Quiet Man_."

"Don't knock it; it's a good film!"

Rain misted over them, coating their hair, clothes, and backpacks. "Oh, yeah. 'Here's a stick to beat the lovely lady.'" Bella quoted in her turn with a deplorable Irish accent. She was sure she'd have the chance to improve upon her accent, though. "A charming film."

"All right, that might be a bit much," Liam admitted.

They kept their pace slow while they could be seen, but as soon as it was dark enough, Liam grinned mischievously at her, grabbed her hand, and started running.

* * *

><p>"Liam!" The buxom blonde called, sauntering from a cottage. The building had two stories and large eaves. It gave the appearance of being abandoned, however. Weathered, mossy walls, overgrown with greenery, met her eyes. "And this is your mate, yeah? Bella?"<p>

Bella smiled a little as the tall blond woman stepped a bit closer. Liam encircled Bella's shoulders with one arm and made a beckoning gesture with the other. "Maggie, darlin'. Come meet Bella. Siobhan, come on, lass."

It had been a while since Bella had met a new vampire. She extended her hand. "Hello. Liam's told me so much about you." _ Okay, not that much_, she allowed in her mind.

The petite redhead with the bounce in her step froze for a moment, her frown almost audible. "Eh? I can't even tell if she's lying! What the _fook_?"

"What?" Bella asked, knowing she had indeed lied but feeling horrible to have been suspected of it.

Maggie smirked and crossed her arms in front of perfectly-proportioned breasts. "Oh, there you see it? She's lyin'. I don't know why I can't tell with ya, but I know a guilty face when I see it with my own eyes."

The moment could have been worse than awkward, and Bella cringed internally, her mind conjuring half a hundred futures that would have even boggled Alice. She could picture Liam's disapproval. She could imagine the two of them being cast out of Ireland like snakes with Maggie playing the role of Saint Patrick. Or maybe Liam would be castigated by his former coven and feel bad that he had brought her. Or –

"Mags!" Laughing until he bent over from it, Liam seemed to have none of the worries Bella did. She relaxed and leaned into him as he straightened. Maggie was not laughing, but the blonde was smiling and that helped Bella feel a shard less worried. Liam kissed Bella's forehead and looked into her eyes. "Sorry, muirnín. I shouldn't have left you open to that." To the others, he sighed. "Aye, it's true, Maggie. I've not told her much about you. I didn't want to give her reasons to find someplace else to spend our honeymoon."

Siobhan lifted a sardonic brow. "Oh? So you went and got married and didn't invite us? And your eyes are changing colors and everything. Quite the member of Carlisle's coven, are ya?"

Bella didn't detect approval in the other woman's tone and winced, wondering if Liam would have to cut ties with his former coven because he was now mated to her.

Liam sighed a little. Even knowing he had chosen to change what he hunted of his own free will, Bella felt guilty. "Actually, no."

"No?"

"He's tellin' the truth," the tiny redhead asserted.

"I've actually not seen Carlisle Cullen since he and his mate were here. But, aye, I've taken to hunting animals as my mate does." He pressed her closely against himself, leaving Bella feeling rather reassured. "It's not that bad. Could be worse."

Maggie snorted. Siobhan shook her head. "Oh, Liam. You're a sweetheart of a man, to be sure." Her expression warmer, the blonde regarded Bella. "Welcome, Bella. You might not believe it, but Maggie and I have been looking forward to meeting you."

"You could have fooled me," Bella murmured, feeling better now that everyone was more relaxed.

Well, everyone except Maggie. She fairly bristled. "Why can't I figure out if you're lying?"

Liam's smile was proud, the light in his eyes entirely loving. Bella couldn't help but melt a little at the heat that built there. "She's a shield, Mags. She's got a real way about her."

Maggie just gaped at her and Bella ducked her head. "Apparently, I was shielded even as a human. It's been convenient..."

"I bet, livin' with the Cullens..." Siobhan rolled her eyes. "Well, then, let's get ourselves acquainted!" With a wave of her arm, the clear "leader" of the Irish Coven invited Bella and Liam inside the cottage.

* * *

><p>"Just so you know? I never slept with him. I mean, if he hasn't told you, yet."<p>

Bella had been hanging her clothes outside. Since she didn't tend to find clothing on her prey, she didn't change out wardrobes. She was accustomed to keeping the same clothes – and keeping them clean – so she found she had to do her laundry by hand. Liam's, too. Maggie had been staring at her for a good thirty seconds before saying anything.

"What?" Surprised and discomfited, Bella stood agape in her sundress as a patch of sunlight hit the blouse and jeans she had just secured to a tree branch.

Flashing across the wet grass, the vibrant, vampire lie-detector did not appear remotely uncomfortable herself. "We didn't have sex. Liam and me. I didn't want you to be worried about that. Stayin' here, yeah? So you don't have to think that he and I had a relationship like he and Siobhan had." At Bella's widened eyes, Maggie held up her hands. "Oh, no! He did tell you, didn't he?"

"Yeah... But we decided nothing mattered before we met."

"Whew. Okay. Good, then. All right." Her expression narrowed. "See, sometimes, the two of them? They kind of got into it even after Siobhan and I found one another. We're mates, you know."

Bella smiled; sometimes, Maggie seemed like a child in her ways. Other times, the little woman was far too knowing. "I know it. And yes, he told me. I lived with two other people, too, you know, before Liam and I were mated. Someday, I hope to go back to them."

"You? With two others? Males?"

Feeling impish, Bella bit her lip and shook her head. "Nope. Male and female. My best friends in the world."

Maggie's eyes grew round. "So...the three of you were together?"

"One bed, yep."

Maggie's grin lit up the yard. "Well, then. We've no cause to be worryin' about our Liam's mate being too conventional, even though you _were_ a Cullen." Then, she sobered. "How did Liam take that?"

Bella smiled, remembering. "He was okay with it from before, like I can't be jealous of Siobhan, you know? But he doesn't want to share." Lifting a brow, she added, "I don't plan on sharing, either."

"I sure as hell hope not!" Liam's exuberant laughter rolled over her as he emerged from the cottage, barefoot, his shirt unbuttoned and hanging open over his jeans.

Bella couldn't help it; she had been talking about sex and out came her very _sexy_ mate with his bare abdomen peeking out and she felt that now would be a great time to show him how very much she did not want to share him. Without thinking about it, she extended her hand and he was by her side and half wrapped around her in less than a second. Inhaling deeply, she pressed her body against his. "Good," she purred.

"Well, now, Isabella," he whispered. "What have you and Maggie been talkin' about, eh?" He palmed her hips first before sliding his hands slowly up her back. As a gesture of sheer possession, it made Bella's knees tremble.

"Newly mated." Maggie made a playfully derogative sound.

Bella smiled a bit sheepishly, burrowing into Liam's body, her fingers skimming his stomach and ribs. His muscles contracted at her touch. It was an immensely gratifying sensation. "We still kind of are, you know," she reminded the other woman.

"Siobhan!" Maggie called, dashing indoors. "Where are you?"

"Come," Liam breathed into her ear. "Let's get out of the sun, muirnín." Lips skimmed skin and she moaned quietly. He chuckled. "I can be persuasive."

"This, I know." She still felt awkward, however, in the cottage with the other two women so close.

"The woods?"

"I could do that."

Under the cover of the trees, out of the dancing streams of sunlight, she pushed the edges of his shirt aside and traced his musculature with her lips, slowly lowering herself to her knees.

Later, sated and curled in his lap, she continued to run her fingertips over his skin. "Sensitive today, are we?" she inquired with a lilt.

He laughed with a deep, pleased sound. "Always, where you're concerned." A thought seemed to occur to him, making his eyes spark and dance. "I'll show you. Do that again."

Enjoying his mood, she did, and saw him move his stomach muscles purposefully, in a sequence. "Liam!"

"What? So I've got galloping abs," he said with a smirk.

"Galloping, eh?"

He wiggled his brows. "Oh, yeah. Want to ride?"

* * *

><p>"You said this was your honeymoon."<p>

Liam eyed his former lover calmly. "I did. And?"

Siobhan narrowed her burgundy eyes with their long brown lashes. "So? You got yourself married and didn't invite your oldest friends?"

_Better fix that, you amadán_, Liam directed himself. "Actually, no. We aren't legally wed. C'mon, Siobhan. We're vampires." Of course, he understood that Carlisle and Esme, whom he had met, had been legally married. As had his Isabella, once upon a time. "Thing is, she's never brought it up and neither have I. We're _mated_. There's naught more permanent than that." Not that he had anything against being married! It just wasn't high on his list of priorities.

Siobhan clearly felt it should be. She poked him solidly in the chest as they stood in the middle of the main room of the cottage. "And? It could be she never brought it up, ya eejit, b'cause _you_ never did. What the hell, Liam? Why so backward?" She scowled at him and a playful expression it was _not_.

"Isabella's already wearing my ring," he reminded her.

"Maybe she'd like your _name_ to go with it?" At his incredulous expression, she threw up her hands. "Look. Just ask her, why don't you?"

"Fine! And when she tells me to shovel shite up my arse, I'll send her to you, yeah?"

"Fine!"

He slammed out from the cottage, breaking the door in the process, which had Siobhan shrieking, to be sure. "I'll fix it!" he called over his shoulder before, having stepped away from the building, he inhaled to find out where Bella had gone.

And he grinned. Because he could trace his mate's scent. He followed the freshest path, wondering where she had taken herself off to, this fine evening. The colors of darkness were deep and mysterious, sensual, even. Colors that could almost be felt in velvet caresses. He stepped silently over greens and through mossy browns, breathing deeply of the unique aromas that belonged to Isabella. The golden edge of honey...light amber scent of freesia...blending with his own lingering essence of bright mint combined with a sharp, white ginger.

Soon enough, he found her. And her laptop. She had a solar battery that she left in the sun often, he had noticed. Other members of the Cullen Coven were fierce advocates of alternative fuel sources. The Whitlocks had field-tested different ways to keep the electronics powered up, as Liam had learned. It fascinated him, how much the golden-eyed ones sought to improve the lives of humans.

Of course, they had profited from this too, in many ways, which didn't hurt.

Rapid tapping on a keyboard came to a halt. "Liam!" She had been sitting on a low-rising rock that was only barely out of the damp earth. The illumination from the computer screen flared with a faint luminescence off her skin. "Join me?"

He did so, settling in at an awkward angle as she closed the laptop. "Working hard?"

She bit her lip lightly. "Just catching up with Alice."

"Ah, our favorite Fae Missie." Liam had a feeling he knew what _that_ had been about. "What did she have to say?"

"That they were taking a trip."

_Of course they were,_ Liam said wryly to himself. He sighed and maneuvered his beloved onto his lap, shifting her computer so that it didn't hit him in the stomach. "I have a question for you," he decided to say after a moment.

She studied his face and he knew that she was thinking hard about how he was feeling about whatever it was she didn't know he was going to ask her. At length, she kissed him on the chin. "I likely have an answer, so...?"

When he had given her the claddagh ring, he had done so after quite a bit of pondering. He had known he wanted to offer it to her in front of the Warrior and Fae lass. He planned on telling his muirnín the meanings of the positions in which she could choose to wear the ring – knowing what he wanted, but leaving it up to her. All of that had been planned. This wasn't. He pursed his lips and spoke slowly, remember that his mate preferred it when things were simple. "Isabella, my mate. Would you consider doing me the very great honor of becoming my wife?"

She smiled into his eyes, her own glowing in the night. "Absolutely."

Taken aback by the immediacy of her assent, Liam chuckled. "Well, now. That was a surprise."

She arched one brow at him before doing a quick shift that had her laptop pressed sideways between them as she straddled his lap. "I love you. I think being Isabella Maguire would be perfect."

"Dr. Isabella Maguire. You worked hard for that, as you've told me before."

Laughter shifted to sighs, then to murmurs and quiet moans as the moon passed through a light cloud cover overhead.

The following day, he and his mate poked about online for the marriage requirements in Ireland.

"Three months?" He gaped at the small screen. "I can't believe it'll take that bloody long." He didn't know why he had such a need for speed for this all of a sudden, but now that she had said she'd be his wife, he really wanted to make it happen yesterday.

She slanted him a glance as he paced and he reflected with one corner of his mind that he seemed to have taken to some of the Whitlock Coven's ways whilst he lived with them. Acting all human, he was. Halting abruptly, he gestured at her computer. "What about England?"

"Already on it. Fifteen days notice there, but we have to be 'in residence' wherever we'd like to marry for a full seven days before we can file notice." She paused and made a suggestion. "We could go to Vegas...?"

"Nah," he said with a shake of his head. "Siobhan won't fly anywhere. And of course, she has to come."

Looking over her shoulder at the newly mended cottage door, Bella agreed. Her face lit up next. "That's why Alice said she and Jasper were going to England! I thought it was to visit Kate and Alistair."

"Ah, yes. Alistair of York." Crossing to her, Liam drew his fingers through her hair. Long and soft, it was. He enjoyed playing with it. "I suppose we should invite him, too? Since he found me?"

In a whirl so fast he almost didn't disentangle his fingers in time, Bella was out of her seat and in his arms, her expression slanted in sorrow. "What? What is it, muirnín? Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

He felt her heave in a huge breath. "I was just thinking... What if he hadn't? What if he'd told Edward to take a flying leap? I'd never have met you and – and as happy as I was? I wouldn't have known what we have, honey. I wouldn't have known and it just made me so sad, all of a sudden." Tilting her head up, she added, "Sorry."

Warmth moved through him, up and down his arms and through his middle. He held her tight and shook his head slowly. "No apologies, dove. None." Just the slightest notion of not knowing Isabella made him ache inside. "I know how you feel. Just how you feel. I guess you should call Alistair of York."

"And his mate."

"And his mate."

He drew the line at inviting anyone else, however. Having heard enough about Carlisle's coven, he guessed that if Carlisle and Esme were invited, the whole lot of them would make an appearance. In the end, there were Siobhan and Maggie, Jasper and Alice, Alistair and Kate, and a wide-eyed receptionist named Kathie, who had blue streaks in her pale hair.

"We could go on another honeymoon," Bella suggested in private, after their guests had been with them for a few days in Anglesey.

"A proper one," he agreed with a nod.

The phone on the bed of the small house buzzed. Liam waited, but Bella didn't answer it. "You know what?" she murmured with a slight curl of her lip, "I'd rather have you surprise me."

Delighted, he grinned and lifted his beloved – his dove, his mate, his _wife_ – into his arms. "We'll talk about it after we take a shower."

* * *

><p><strong>EN:** And that's a wrap! This is the last planned bit of _Tender is the Night_. Aside from drabbles that might be included in my Twilight Rambles collection, I have no further plans for these characters. I thank you so much for accepting Liam into your imaginations!


End file.
